Betrothal
by Sanna
Summary: You've just discovered that your future has already been decided on. It's bad enough that your past isn't what it seemed to be. What's worse is that your present enemy was part of your past and will be part of your future whether you like it or not.
1. Prologue

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Title: Betrothal: Prologue  
**Author name:** Sanna  
**Author email:** ladyswan_1@hotmail.com  
**Category:** romance  
**Keywords:** Draco/Hermione, romance, Malfoy curse  
**Spoilers:** none  
**Rating: **PG

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Summary: What would you do if you found out you were betrothed to your worst enemy? And what if you do if you found out that marrying him/her was the only way to save your family from complete evil? Read and find out how Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger put aside their differences and fell in love.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Author's Note: Yes, I am that same sanna from ffn.net, and yes, I'm alive again! For those of you who were bugging me to continue Hidden Behind the Mask, thank you, you made me write again, but unfortunately, I'm really uninspired to continue that story. It's really hard for me to write the scenes coming up, so I temporarily gave up on that. Maybe I'll continue it one of these days, but its definitely on hold at the moment. In the meantime, since I couldn't finish that, I decided to go ahead and start writing a story I really, really wanted to try writing for a while. I hope you like it! D/hr forever! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Midnight Star, my Beta, to who I am forever grateful. Read her story, San Fairy Ann! It's the best!

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Betrothal  
by sanna

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Malfoy Progenitor Dirus  
The Malfoy Family Curse

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Malfoy. The man laughed scornfully. They were supposed to be meeting at their secret room beneath the dungeons of the castle they had rebuilt. _Where was he now? Off with his muggle-loving friends. He'd show him. No one crossed Tom Marvolo Riddle. No one._

Riddle clenched his fist tightly, opening it and then closing it again, trying to control his anger. Auctor Malfoy hadn't graced the castle with his presence for a whole week now, and Riddle knew he had no reasonable explanation other than avoidance of his partner.

The castle's location was Unplottable on any map of Britain, sitting near the edge of its shores. The cold air surrounding the area seemed to reflect the frigidness of the two wizards' souls.

After graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together, Malfoy and Riddle had found the remains of this deserted castle and used their magic to rebuild and put safety wards all around it. But of course, they did not forget to put in the deadly traps for those who dared to try and break into the fortress.

Sweeping his cape behind him, Riddle moved away from the window and decided to take matters into his own hands. Malfoy was going to pay dearly. He stood behind his cauldron, mixing the last ingredient he needed to complete the curse. Getting Malfoy's blood had been easy; they had both stored a good amount of blood for potions and curses they were experimenting with. Riddle had merely taken some of his without asking.

After years of reading up on deadly curses and poisons, Riddle could conjure up several spells to kill Muggles and weak wizards in his sleep. But that wasn't good enough. As Malfoy had been his partner for so many years, Riddle needed a much stronger curse to obtain revenge worthy enough. And after days of experimenting, he had decided on the perfect curse for a wizard who was strong in power, but weak in morals.

As the mixture glowed a bright red, the man cursed his former best friend to a lifetime of service and woe. _He shall not survive this terror, and neither shall his descendants,_ Riddle laughed to himself. _Malfoys for generations shall serve the Dark Lord known as Voldemort,_ he thought to himself. _Forever._

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Muggle-born wizards have every right to be here!" Optime Weasley argued hotly, his eyes blazing similarly to his fiery red hair. Having heard Tom Riddle and Auctor Malfoy approach and begin to bully Joseph Andrews, he leapt to the second-year's side and began to defend him. "They were allowed into Hogwarts because they have a high Magical Quotient, probably even higher than yours." After giving the two boys a glare, he led Joseph away.

Riddle took out his wand from his pocket. "I'll teach you to talk back to me," he seethed.

But before he could curse Weasley, Malfoy grabbed him by the arm. "Don't," he said. "He's a pureblood like us. Our goal is only to eliminate and injure the muggle-borns who are unworthy." By this time, both had conveniently forgotten that Riddle was a half-blood.

Riddle turned his death-glare to his partner. "Purebloods like that are unworthy of the name! They are just as bad as those muggle-borns," he said with utter distaste. He paused for a moment, before looking at his friend in suspicion, "Why are you defending him, anyway?"

Malfoy hesitated for a moment, remembering.

__

There were two boys playing together in the small field between their houses. They were young, around seven years of age. Financially, both weren't that well off, but at such an age, money and material things weren't worth much to them.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Auctor!" the boy with the red head said with a wave, as he headed home.

"Bye, Optime!" Auctor shouted back, running in the opposite direction. "Let's play together again tomorrow!"

It had been a long time, and both had moved on from the friendship they had once shared. In fact, both boys now had a strong dislike for each other. So, Malfoy could not help but wonder why he didn't want Riddle to hurt his one-time friend. He turned to Riddle, remembering he had asked him a question. He gave a slight shrug. "He's one of us. He may be on their side, but let's get rid of the muggle-borns first."

Riddle stares at him for a long time, trying to read into his thoughts and figure out why Malfoy was defending that Weasley-scum. Suddenly, Riddle felt that he couldn't trust in his partner as much as he used to. Sure it was a small argument now, but later on he just might stab him in the back.

"Fine," he finally, said putting away his wand. Malfoy hesitated, knowing that Riddle was angry. But before he could say a word, Riddle turned his back swiftly, and walked away. Malfoy grimaced, before running to catch up with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The boy entered the Hogwarts Express with much apprehension. The forceful glare on his face contained his amazement at the magic of this place. Everything was new to him, and everything intrigued him. A half-born, yet muggle-raised, he had yet to learn more about the world that he had just become part of.

Arriving alone on his first year in this new school, he knew not where to go, but instead relied on common sense, ingenuity and a few others he thought were wizards themselves. He followed them discreetly, keeping enough distance to make others aware that they were not to approach him.

He sat in a compartment alone, not because no one wanted to sit with him. Rather, he preferred solitude rather than annoying company. Many heads popped in through the doorway, looking for a place to sit. The heads popped out quickly after being on the receiving end of the glare that seemed to kill. An evil smile crossed his lips. _What chickens,_ he thought to himself.

One wizard however, walked right in and dumped his trunk on the other side of the compartment. He looked his age, yet his will was much stronger than that of a first year. The first boy glared at him, standing up and crossing his arms to seem intimidating. Surprisingly, the wizard glared right back at him, unwilling to back down.

The two met glare for glare until, finally, two smirks crossed theirs faces. They were matched evenly it seemed. The blonde young wizard who had just entered extended a hand in greeting. "Auctor Malfoy. And you?" he asked, raising his chin slightly in greeting.

"Tom Riddle," the dark-haired boy said, extending his hand, and firmly shaking with the other. This seemed to indicate the respect that flowed between them, something that Tom rarely gave. The handshake was a bit tighter than obligated, but both boys came from difficult backgrounds; they were made from tougher stuff than necessary for their age. The similar smirks remained on the two young wizards' faces, yet both knew they had met someone who might actually understand.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"That was uncalled for, Riddle!" Malfoy shouted. "Those were innocent wizards without a single drop of Muggle blood flowing within them!" They were in their secret room within their castle. Malfoy was so mad that he was tossing tables and chairs, spilling potions of all kinds on the cement ground. "We've debated over this before, you had no right-"

"I had every right!" Riddle roared, glaring at his partner-in-crime. "They were Muggle-lovers… just as dirty as their friends. They don't deserve to be called wizards! Might as well take them down in the process!"

Riddle then began to compose himself, turning upright a chair that had formerly lain on the floor. He sat down calmly. "As my partner, Malfoy, you shall respect my decisions and continue helping me, as I do to you. Now, are you in or are you out? Don't tell me you've let your love for Muggle-Lovers get in the way of your goal of becoming the richest wizard alive."

Malfoy looked him straight in the eye as he did when things between them got tense. His voice had considerably softened, but the resentment was still there. "I can't continue to work with you while we have such different views. Neither of us will back down, so going our separate ways is the only possible choice. As for my fortune, I'm already halfway there. See you around, Riddle," and he turned and left.

The room was filled with silence for many moments. "Never turn your back on me, Malfoy. You should have known better. You'll pay for that. And you'll regret this day for as long as you shall live," Riddle hissed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Congratulations, Mr. Riddle," Armando Dippet said, shaking the boy's hand after awarding him with his trophy. He flashed him a worried smile. "You must promise never to tell anyone else about Rubeus' involvement."

Tom Riddle gave him his winning smile. "Of course not, Professor. I wouldn't dream of it." He in turn, faced the rest of the Great Hall where everyone was watching him receive his award, and smiled widely, concealing his sarcastic thoughts.

As he returned to his seat in the Slytherin table, Riddle found Malfoy waiting for him. He greeted him with the cool and aloof non-smile that he had given him the past few weeks while they hadn't been speaking to each other. Malfoy didn't say anything, and Riddle didn't care that much, why should he be the one to apologize?

"Tom," Malfoy said, after much hesitation. "Congratulations, I guess."

"Thanks, Auctor," Riddle replied, with a shrug of indifference.

There was a pregnant pause. "Look, Riddle," Malfoy began to say. "I just wanted to apo— say that— well, you know…," he drifted off, unable to beg pardon from his sort-of friend. "I know we have our different views, and although I still think your take on this is too extreme, I just want you to know, that— I guess, I missed your company."

Riddle grinned inwardly. It was strange seeing Malfoy stutter out his apology. Although Riddle would die before apologize, he had to admit, researching Slytherin and his Chamber of Secrets had been quite lonely. "I accept your, _apology_," Riddle said, with Malfoy cringing at the last word.

They sat down across from each other in the Slytherin table and began to catch up on the past weeks they had missed on each other's lives. "So what was that award for?" Malfoy asked, pointing to the award that the Headmaster had just given Riddle.

After much thought, Riddle had decided not to inform Malfoy about all he had discovered about Slytherin and the Chamber. While he had resolved to put away that project for a few years, now was not the time to tell his partner. "It's just like Professor Dippet said, for bravery and honesty," Riddle said with an overly innocent face.

Malfoy glanced up from his dinner to look at his partner suspiciously. "Yeah… sure…." But he dropped the topic. It was obvious Riddle didn't want to talk about it, and was most likely going to be difficult if not impossible to get out of him. He could find out later on what Riddle had been up to recently. Things always had a way of coming out.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What kind of subject is Defense Against the Dark Arts anyway?" Riddle asked with a loud sigh, pushing his book away. The Librarian who sat five tables away from them at her own desk shushed him loudly.

Malfoy tilted his head knowingly, indicating that this wasn't the first time this topic had been brought up. "If only I had been able to afford a better school, like Durmstrang perhaps, then I would have gotten a better education than this! The Dark Arts are meant to be learned, not to be defended against."

"Rotten school," Riddle spat in disdain. "A real school would show us how to use the powers of the Dark Arts. And what decent magical school accepts dirty muggle-borns like these?" He shut his book loudly. "If I were in charge, all muggles would be killed. Dirty, good-for-nothing…" he continued mumbling, as the two continued to rant.

Having been partners or friends, or whatever they called it, for a while, Malfoy and Riddle had realized that they had both had come from desolation and resentment. Riddle had come from a muggle environment, which he had hated, while Malfoy had been raised pure but poor, and had come to despise his origins.

The two spent most of their time in the Library, but not studying and keeping high grades as most of the professors and fellow students thought. Rather, they were reading extra books concerning the Dark Arts and how to 'defend' themselves, hoping to fulfill their goal of removing themselves from 'the filth' of their beginnings.

"When I'm the Lord of the Dark," Malfoy started bragging, as it was routine to them, "I shall be the richest wizard of them all! No one shall look down on me, lest they want to be killed." An evil grin formed upon his lips.

And so Riddle continued. "When I will be the Dark Lord…."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Auctor Malfoy suddenly doubles over in pain. He howls in agony as his whole body glows. Everything around him blurs, until he realizes he has been transported to Tom Riddle's lair. "You!" he manages to hiss softly, wincing in pain. "I should have known you'd be behind this."

Riddle chuckles evilly. "You should have known better than to turn your back on me, Malfoy. And now, you, and your pitiful descendants shall spend the rest of your lives in service to me, Lord Voldemort." A loud and evil laugh fills the room, so loud that it can be heard for miles away. Nearby, birds feel the evil at work and take flight. Evil has captured a prisoner, and has begun spreading its poison.

~*~*~*~*~*~

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Friend turned traitor,  
Must forever serve,  
The Lord now known as Voldemort.

Heir after heir,  
Malfoys shall obey,  
Until the day,  
The Queen of the Light,  
Shall bow down,  
And love the dragon of Malfoy.

Only then,  
Shall the Dark Lord be defenseless  
And the Heirs of the Founding Four  
Shall bring down the Master of the Dark.

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Review review please!!!


	2. Chapter One

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Title: Betrothal: Chapter One  
**Author name:** Sanna  
**Author email:** ladyswan_1@hotmail.com  
**Category:** romance  
**Keywords:** draco/hermione, romance, malfoy curse  
**Spoilers:** none  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **What would you do if you found out you were betrothed to your worst enemy? And what if you do if you found out that marrying him/her was the only way to save your family from complete evil? Read and find out how Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger put aside their differences and fell in love.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out… heck, I started this when summer wasn't even officially starting for me, and since then… hmm… its been more than two months! Wow, talk about procrastinating! =)   
A special thanks goes out to the many reviewers who kept urging me to continue writing until I started feeling guilty for abandoning my stories for my studies. Heehee =)

This chapter is dedicated all of my friends and faithful reviewers who were there for me during the "Plagiarizing Period." =) Thanks for helping me out and convincing me I didn't have to look over my shoulder all the time for such. =)

And an extra special thanks goes out to my beta reader, Jaz. =) Thanks for all your help with this chapter! It turned out great because of your help! =) 

I know, I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, I've really really been busy. When I get to the computer I just want to relax and read, not write. 0=) Instead of you having to check back all the time, go to this thread and subscribe to this topic (http://www.fictionalley.org/schnoogle/reviews/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1402) so that you know when I update this story =)

I look for different beta readers for each chapter, so if you want to beta read (and I really want those beta readers who will criticize every single detail) please email me =)

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Betrothal  
by sanna

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Chapter One

It was a small run down cottage which smelt of several different animals. To an ordinary muggle or wizard, the cottage was nothing special if not something they would prefer to stay away from. But if Alastor Moody and his magical eye saw the cottage, he could have told anyone how special and how well-protected this place was… not that he would have in the first place.

This small cottage was built by the great wizard, Albus Dumbledore, himself. The cottage was simple enough to live in, yet it was built with and surrounded by the greatest of protection charms ever made. It was unplottable, and several Secrecy Charms were placed over it. Dumbledore had spent a good five years building it into the place that it was on that very day.

It looked like it could hold a maximum of five people, but as every magical place, it expanded on the inside and held the ten people quite well with room to spare.

As miserable as the place looked physically on the outside, so was it magically majestic on the inside. It was the perfect place to hold the ritual. It was the perfect place to perform the only magic that would save the magical world years later.

"Lord and Lady Magnar," Dumbledore called, "please step forward." He stood in the middle of the room where a huge marble sink stood. The water glowed an eerie blue, glittering like the magic surrounding them. Two of the nine others present stepped forward, and Lady Magnar carrying a small bundle in her arms.

Everyone's eyes were focused on that little bundle, maybe with the exception of one. It was unusual to believe that the baby wrapped carefully within could save their future, and their children's future. It was ironic that if fate was kind to them, that this night was all that was needed to save several lives in the future, most especially the lives of those present in that very room.

"Mister and Mrs. Malfoy," Dumbledore called forward next. Narcissa Malfoy, too, held her own bundle in her arms. The other half of the magic that would save future lives. Lucius Malfoy gripped his wife tightly, as his hand was around her hip. His Dark Mark was burning in his shoulder, yet, he had to be there for this ritual. The pain he felt was nothing compared to the love he felt for his son, and the need to give him a better life than he had.

As the two couples stood before Dumbledore, two others stood behind them. Dumbledore joined the two as they raised their hands and began to perform the Secret Keeper's charm. The triangle they had formed around the Malfoy's and the Magnar's suddenly glowed a bright yellow. Words were mumbled and chants were chanted. The sadness that had filled the room earlier had been lifted and was filling with hope. The pain that Lucius had felt in his arm was slowly disappearing as if he had been transferred to another dimension where the Dark Lord couldn't call for him.

The room was suddenly engulfed in the bright yellow light that blinded everyone temporarily. As suddenly as it had come, just as quickly it had disappeared. And then they all knew, the Secret Keeper charm had been completed.

Narcissa Malfoy's tear-stained face met Lady Magnar's tearful smile. It was almost over. This was the end of the beginning of their hope for the future. True, there would be sorrow and anxiety later on, but that was normal when bringing up children, or lack thereof.

As the Secret Keepers stepped backwards, Dumbledore broke the silence. "Let us begin the Betrothal."

~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a faint cinnamon smell mixing with the smell of the cool garden. At ten in the evening, everything was dark with the exception of the numerous stars in the sky and the candles that had been lit on the four corners of the picnic blanket.

As it was their last month in Hogwarts, and seeing that they were both prefects, no one minded much that the couple was breaking a few rules by being out there so late. Besides, who would dare tell two Slytherins that they were breaking school rules? It was common knowledge that one of many mottos of the Slytherin house was "Rules were meant to be broken."

Lucius Malfoy lay on the blanket on his back, looking up at the stars. He had a pensive expression on his face, one that did not betray his emotions within. Next to him, with her head on his chest, lay his girlfriend, Narcissa Whiteworth.

It was one of those rare moments, Narcissa knew, that Lucius wasn't completely sad. Once, after one of their snogging sessions up in the Astronomy Tower, he had told her about his unhappy childhood. He had told her about his mother who was never there, his father and his cold and harsh demeanor; Lucius had even told Narcissa about the numerous beatings he had received as a child. He had never really spoken it out loud before, but Narcissa could tell that he had contemplated killing himself several different times in his life.

But then she had come into his life, and suddenly, there was a reason for living. She remembered what Lucius had once told her, 'You rescued me, just when I was about to fall forever into the dark abyss.' Love, Narcissa then thought, love was all he needed.

"Lucius," she quietly whispered. Lucius gazed down to her head, which was placed on his chest. "I love you," she told him, her eyes glittering a sad smile.

But then she felt Lucius tense beneath her, and before she knew it, he was sitting up straight, with one knee folded beneath the other. His upper body however had twisted facing the direction opposite Narcissa. Worry filled her, fearing she had done the wrong thing. This was first time she had ever said out loud that him she loved him… she should have known that someone who had grown up in an environment without love wouldn't have taken those words well.

"Lucius, are you ok?" she asked, putting her arm lightly on his shoulder.

A soft whimper came from Lucius as soon as her hand touched his shoulder. It was so soft that Narcissa wasn't even sure of what the sound was and if it even came from him. But once she heard his voice come out strangled, she knew something was different. "No…" he had murmured. "You're not supposed to love me… you can't…."

Narcissa watched him helplessly, staring at him in confusion. "Lucius… I- I don't understand… Why? I mean, I could understand if you don't love me," she said, her inner wounds of being a neglected child reflecting on the person that she was now, "but I-"

Suddenly, Lucius interrupted her self-pity and grabbed her by her shoulders, his eyes wild with emotion. "Don't you ever say that I don't love you! Because I do," he said, the latter much softer than the former.

Her eyes filled with tears at his words, and Narcissa soon felt Lucius wrap his arms around her in a comforting hug. It was a hug that was not only meant to comfort her, but it also seemed to comfort him as well. Once the tears had stopped flowing, and the emotions had started to decline from its peak, Lucius and Narcissa fell back into their comfortable silence, this time laced with many new thoughts and emotions.

"Cissa… its not that I don't love you… you're not supposed to love me. I-" He stopped talking as the thoughts in his head were swirling around too quickly for him to make sense of it all. Narcissa just watched him as he took several deep breaths, trying to collect his thoughts.

"There's something I haven't told you… something… that I am sure will make you want to look for someone else to love." Before Narcissa was about to protest, he held up a hand to silence her before he continued. "You do know about the dark Lord Voldemort right?"

Narcissa felt a shiver run down her spine before she nodded. It wasn't the first time she had heard the name. A fairly new dark psychopath had entered the magical scene and was terrorizing muggles and muggle-borns alike. He would also try to kill any witch or wizard who would dare go against him. Although he wasn't that much of a threat, the very name of the wizard sent most shaking with fear.

Lucius then proceeded to tell Narcissa everything he knew about the friendship between his father and the man once known as Tom Riddle. The trees around them seemed to shake even more, Narcissa noticed, as Lucius told her how the partnership had gone wrong and how the Malfoys were now doomed to serve the Dark Lord.

"Once my father dies, Cissa… it will be my turn to serve him, even thought it will be against my will. Don't you see? What kind of life, what kind of love can I offer you if I am only destined to be one wizard's slave?"

Narcissa looked into his eyes and saw pain and defeat. He had not yet become a slave of someone he didn't like, yet he had already succumbed to his so-called fate. Narcissa had not given him her answer yet, and he already believed she would reject him and what he had to offer her. What he did not know was although he thought he could only offer her so little, it was still so much more than what she already had and wanted.

Tenderly, she placed her right hand softly on his left cheek. "I love you Lucius. I love you for the man that you are, and the man that you will be. What will happen in the future doesn't matter. I will be with you every step of the way. Can't you see that?" she asked, the moonlight shining down brightly on her blonde hair.

Lucius stared at her for what seemed to be eternity. He wondered how someone as misfortunate in life as he, could have ended up with such a sweet and wonderful girl. It was especially difficult to find a mate from Slytherin, where the girls were selfish and conceited. And yet, the selfish part of Narcissa, Lucius had come to love. Her vain and insecure side he had come to understand. And because of that, she had come to love him too and even change for the better, if only just for him.

He enveloped her tightly in his arms. "I love you too, Cissa. I love you so much." 

And there they sat quietly on the blanket, hugging each other tightly as if the world would end if they stopped. Birds chirped softly in the background, as the owls hooted as if in song. At that moment, it seemed that everything was right.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The manor was silent. The only sound that could be heard was the tinkling sounds of the carousel above the crib of the baby in the nursery. And then without warning, a wail was heard coming from the baby's room. Quickly, several made their way to the brightly decorated room. While a house-elf tidied up the crib, Narcissa Malfoy cuddled the infant in her arms, and soon the wailing had stopped.

Narcissa sat on the rocking chair near the window and rocked the chair slowly as she began to sing a lullaby to her son in a foreign language. As her lovely voice filled the room, another person entered the nursery. "Is everything alright?" asked Lucius Malfoy.

Smiling up at her husband, Narcissa said, "Yes, everything is just fine here. Little Draco was just lonely, that's all." Lucius smiled back at his endearing wife as he carefully took his son from her arms. He nuzzled him a bit and smiled proudly at his heir.

"My little dragon… you make me the proudest father in the world." Lucius brought his son as he stood in front of the window. He then whispered to the child in his arms, "Do you see all of this? All of this is yours, I will make sure you will never have to want anything for the rest of you life." He started to hold his hands, counting each finger, knowing that every part of his son was perfect.

A soft knock was then heard. "E-ex-c-cu-se me, S-sir," a house-elf stuttered. "A v-va-very im-po-portant message h-has arrived f-for you." Although Lucius was a strict and firm man, he was still fair with his house-elves. But the house-elves knew that their master valued his time with his family above all else, and to interrupt such time wasn't permitted.

Lucius frowned deeply as he returned baby Draco to Narcissa's arms, and then headed towards his study where the newly arrived message that demanded his immediate attention had arrived.

As soon as his father had left the nursery, Draco began to wail once more. Narcissa's attempts at trying to sooth him were useless as there was no stopping his crying. It was as if he sensed there was something wrong.

Narcissa realized this as Lucius returned to the room, his face white as he still clutched the parchment in his left hand. "Wh-what's wrong?" she asked her husband above the cries of little Draco.

It took Lucius awhile to form the words in his head, as he was still trying to recover from the shock. He closed his eyes and tried imagining it all away. No, not now, he told himself, this can't be happening now.

Taking a step closer to him, and placing her hand on his shoulder, Narcissa tried again, "What's wrong?" she asked once more.

Lucius looked up at her and she saw the pain and terror in his eyes that she had once seen a long time ago back during their Hogwarts days. And suddenly, she felt the fear fill her. "My father…" Lucius said. "He's dead."

A single tear trickled down her cheek, as Narcissa held Lucius tight, Draco in between them. It was if they all knew, even the little baby. It wouldn't be long before Lucius would be taken away from them. It just wasn't fair.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The three Malfoy's were sitting in the drawing room, trying to spend as much quality family time together before it was too late. The tension in the air was thick. But Lucius tried acting like it was no big deal. He had to be strong, he had to make Narcissa and little Draco feel like there was nothing to be afraid of. Even if there was.

As Narcissa cradled her son in her arms, the little baby cooing softly, Lucius traced a finger down his son's cheek fondly. My boy, he thought proudly. _He will do great things in his day. Let's hope he won't do great things for the Dark Side_, he thought, grimacing. After tracing Draco's cheek, Lucius brought his hand to his wife's face and cupped in softly. He smiled at her tenderly.

"Do you want to hold him," she asked him, with a quiet smile on her face. Lucius' face lit up, and he opened his arms so that Narcissa could put Draco in his arms.

But before Draco was placed in his father's arms, Lucius suddenly felt a searing pain in his arm. He jumped back in pain and cried out in agony. Narcissa sobbed in terror as Draco began to wail. "What's wrong? Please, no, don't let this be happening! Not now!" she weeped.

"He- he's calling me," Lucius groaned. "The pain-" he cried out, as one knee gave out and he collapsed to the floor on one knee. 

Struggling against the pain, Lucius forced himself to stand up straight. "I must go," he told his beloved. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Draco I love him." He kissed Narcissa on the lips hard, as if it would be the last time he would do so.

Lucius took a step backwards, looking longingly at his family before he disapperated to go to meet his new master. Narcissa watched as her husband disappeared before her very eyes and cried her heart out, knowing that things would never be the same again.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The ten present in the little cottage began to feel the magic in the air as the betrothal proceeded. A muggle would say it was similar to being electrocuted, but the magical feeling gave more of a calming feeling rather than a complete shock.

Albus and the remaining wizard present in the room stepped before the two families, raising their arms, and holding their wands in their hands. They began to mumble words to cast the spell that would bond the two children together. 

The betrothal wasn't simple. In fairy tales it was merely an agreement between two families. But here, it was a combination of spells and charms. Because of the circumstances, even before the betrothal could be performed, the Secret Keeper charm had to be completed. And then the two children had to be bonded together, and certain traits had to be added in them to make sure they followed fate as it was planned.

As the number of spells and charms that were casting grew, the two felt their magic level being lowered and felt very exhausted. But they continued on, as it was a small sacrifice for the good of the whole wizarding community, if not the whole world.

The two Secret Keepers watched on. For that night, their job magically was done, but as they watched the betrothal taking place, they felt a rush of pride, for they were part of a very important event in history. They watched in awe as the two most powerful wizards on the Light Side perform the spells and charms. The incantations were something only they could perform, and for that, they knew this was a very difficult and delicate situation indeed. They hardly dared to even breath.

Silent as ever, Lord Magnar glanced down at his daughter, without changing the look of indifference on his face. But inside, he was so proud of his baby girl. He had done a great many things for the Light Side over the years, and now it was his daughter's turn, and he would spare no sacrifice in helping her do the world a good favor.

Lady Magnar, on the other hand, was smiling down at her daughter fondly, as a tear trickled down her face. This would be the last day she would be with her baby, and she was so proud of the girl that she would be. She felt a deep pain in her heart, as if all the love she had for her daughter was more than her heart could take.

Narcissa stared at her son thoughtfully. Other than Lucius, he was her world. And now, she knew he would grow up to do great things. She wanted to make sure he had everything he ever needed. Her love for her son was endless, and she would make sure he would never grow up the way she did, neglected.

With a heavy heart, Lucius acutely listened to the incantations of the two wizards, and yet, his mind was drifting. He wished there was some way he could change things and give his wife and son a normal one. He hated the fact that they were making sacrifices due to his father's bad dealings with the Dark Side. He wanted to give the world to his son, but instead his son would be saving him, rather than the other way around. He felt so helpless.

Interrupting the thoughts of the four parents, a purple glow surrounded them. The chants of the two wizards had slowly grown louder, as the light had grown brighter as well. A slight fear or nervous feeling had filled them, yet it was giving them relief at the same time. And then, once the light had died down, and the room had grown quiet, they realized; it was over. The two children that were the hope of the future were betrothed.

Everyone remained silent, afraid to speak. Lucius looked across at Lord Magnar and was surprised to see a small smile of victory.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a very dark night with no stars to be seen, yet the moon was full and it shined down in its golden glory. A couple apparated a block away from their destination. In the arms of the woman was a bundle which held a child who was being handled with much delicacy. They had apparated as far as possible, as to have enough time left with their daughter before letting her go, yet as closely as possible as not to let anyone suspect what would be happening.

A brave smile was on her face, as Lady Magnar forced herself not to cry. It was for the good of the whole world, no sacrifice was too big for her baby girl. As they reached the doorstep, the door opened without them even having to knock. The couple inside had apparently been waiting for them.

"We deeply appreciate you taking in our daughter," Lady Magnar told the middle-aged couple.

"Its no problem at all," Dianna Granger told her, smiling at the Magnar's.   
"We always wanted a girl to take in, and we're very grateful you decided to leave her in our care." She gazed at the baby girl. "She's a dear, isn't she?"

"Yes," Lord Magnar said, "she's a very good girl."

As Lady Magnar gave her baby to Dianna, giving her daughter one last kiss, Lord Magnar placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder. Leonard Granger gave the Magnar's a nod before he and his wife went back into their house.

As soon as the door had closed, Albus and the Magnar's Secret Keeper had appeared. They had been there the whole time, yet under the invisibility spell of Albus' so as not to make the situation seem more awkward or strange. Lady Magnar ran to Albus for comfort as the Secret Keeper then placed a spell over the Granger household to protect the Magnar baby, now known as the Granger baby.

One by one, they apparated back to the Hogsmade to head back to the safety Hogwarts before anyone grew suspicious. Lord Magnar was the last to leave, as he remained in place, staring at the house where his daughter was to live for the next few years. "Take care my dear Hermione," he whispered, fighting to hold back the tears. And then he disapperated.

****

…to be continued…


	3. Chapter Two

****

Title: Betrothal: Chapter Two  
**Author name:** Sanna  
**Author email:** ladyswan_1@hotmail.com  
**Category:** romance  
**Keywords:** draco/hermione, romance, malfoy curse  
**Spoilers:** none  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **What would you do if you found out you were betrothed to your worst enemy? And what if you do if you found out that marrying him/her was the only way to save your family from complete evil? Read and find out how Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger put aside their differences and fell in love.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

****

Author's Note:   
Hey there! Sorry it took me seven months for me to actually finish this chapter! I hope it won't be long before the next chapter, but no promises =) Favor, I need a beta reader, a permanent one at that. I always seem to lose contact with my beta readers after it takes me soooo long to finish a chapter. Wek. Any takers?  
  
This chapter is the product of an overdose of boredom due to the sembreak, an overdose of d/hr fics which in a way, made me want to continue my own, and most especially, Lilie Blaze in ffn.net and her story "A Dragon's Heart" which is similar to my own. I don't know why, but I guess because she mentioned it, I just remembered my story all of a sudden and with all the above mentioned, it just finally made me write =)  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Cindy, my beta reader. =) Thanks so much dear!  
  
Anyways, subscribe to this topic so that you know when I update this story =) TC all!

__

Betrothal  
by sanna

****

Chapter Two

The Great Hall was filled with energy that day. It was bright and early on a Sunday morning, and the school was filled with excitement, as there was a grudge match that day, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Naturally, the Gryffindor and Slytherin members wore their house colors as the rest of the school was divided between cheering for either of the two teams or remaining in the colors of their own house.

Although for the past few years, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff more commonly cheered for Gryffindor over Slytherin, the two houses were tired of Gryffindor winning the Quidditch cup every year since Harry Potter had been made Gryffindor Seeker. And so the two houses seemed to divide themselves equally when cheering during a Quidditch match as so. And not to forget the number of girls who would cheer for Slytherin mainly because their Seeker, Draco Malfoy, had gotten really hot over the past years.

That morning, after hearing the loud battle cries coming from the Slytherin table, the members of the Gryffindor house were not to be defeated. Harry Potter, the new Quidditch captain of the Gryffindor team stood up on his chair and bellowed, "Who's going to win the quidditch match this afternoon?"

"We are!" the Gryffindors shouted back at him.

"And who are we?" he asked.

"We're the Mighty from the house of Gryffindor!" they chanted, "And we're going to win!" The group let out a loud, hearty cheer, drowning out the "boo's" from the Slytherin table, as Harry pumped his fist into the air.

After Harry had sat back down in his chair, his best friend, Ron Weasley clapped him on his back. "Great cheer, mate," he told him. "That'll show Slytherin who's boss!"

Hermione Granger, who was sitting across from the two boys, rolled her eyes. "Honestly, save your voices for later, when the match actually starts." And yet she said this with a smile.

The conversation around the table continued, as the Quidditch players stuffed themselves with the right food to give them the energy they needed for the game later. After finishing a hearty breakfast, the trio headed towards the Gryffindor tower to change for the big match. On their way out though, they ran into Draco Malfoy and his two goons, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

"Well, well, well," Draco taunted, "if it isn't Potty, Weasel and the Mudblood. It's a fine day for losing, isn't it Potty?"

"I wouldn't know," Harry retorted, "we're not going to lose, you are. You must be losing your touch, Malfoy, its going to take more than a few taunts to bring us down."

Draco smirked. "Oh I'll bring you down, believe me I will." He then lowered his voice to a stage whisper. "I'll bring you down so low, you'll finally be able to meet your dead parents."

Having provoked the fight and hitting him where it hurt the hardest, Draco was expecting Harry to fight back. He was expecting a duel, or even a physical fight. But what happened, he never saw coming. As he watched and waited for Harry's reaction, he saw from the corner of his eye, Hermione growled and leapt to Harry's defense.

"You bastard! It's better that Harry's parents died and still loved him than having your evil parents!" she screamed at him, kicking him and punching him with all her might.

Draco tried to grab her arms to stop her and his two goons approached, trying to defend him. Harry and Ron then came closer to stop Crabbe and Goyle. Soon, all six of them were engrossed in a physical fight.

They didn't hear the sharp heels clicking as someone approached them swiftly, but none of the six couldn't help but wince when they heard the shrill bellowing of Professor McGonagall, "Just what do you six think you're doing?!" As the six parted slightly and composed themselves, the elderly professor stood before them with her hands on her hips waiting for an answer.

Although they despised each other, the students knew about the unsaid rules about snitching and dared not to say a word. Finally, Professor McGonagall had enough of the silence. "I know there's a Quidditch match coming up soon, but I do wish you could contain your energy until then! You know we forbid fighting in Hogwarts! Ten points from each of you from your respective houses!" Instantly, there was a collective groan from all six students. But the professor wasn't finished with her reprimanding.

"I must say, I am extremely upset with all of you. In your Sixth year at Hogwarts, you still fight in the hallways! I am especially disappointed with you Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger. You are both Prefects and I expect much more from the two of you. Detention, tonight."

Draco glowered while Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. It wasn't the first time Professor McGonagall had given her detention with Malfoy, but this time it just wasn't fair, she thought to herself. After he had grabbed her arms, all she had been able to do was shout at Malfoy; Harry and Ron had actually been exchanging punches with Goyle and Crabbe.

"Yes, Ma'am," Draco muttered, glaring down at the ground. After giving them one last scolding glance, Professor McGonagall walked away, leaving the six to silently glare each other before heading off to their own houses.

__

Another detention with that stuck-up know-it-all, Draco thought to himself as he and the other two Slytherins walked towards the dungeons, _just great. Damn, McGonagall._

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Cool Mint Gum," Professor McGonagall told the gargoyles in irritation, waiting for them to make way for her to enter the Headmaster's office. She hurried up the steps of the stairway and stepped inside the circular room and found both Professors Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape waiting for her.

"You're late," Severus said, his head tilted to the right, his left eyebrow raised pointedly.

Minerva turned her head sharply towards the Potions Master. "Yes well, I caught Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger as well as Misters Goyle, Crabbe, Potter and Weasley fighting in the hallways again. Honestly, those six," she said, bringing her left hand up to massage her forehead.

Albus looked at her inquisitively. "And the punishment this time was?"

Minerva sighed. "Ten points off each of them, plus a detention for both Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger." All three professors exchanged a look. "These two have got to be the most stubborn people in the world."

Severus shook his head. "I'm getting worried about those two. They're almost of age. Sixteen and they haven't shown signs of liking each other! They're at a point in their lives when their hormones should be raging!" As he spoke, he waved his arms around to emphasize his point, but in his excitement, he accidentally knocked over one of the silver trinkets sitting on Albus' desk. He bent over to pick the fallen trinket and placed it back on the desk, a trace of embarrassment on his face.

Minerva smiled, bemused. "Severus has a point. We've given them several opportunities to get to know each other, and yet, it is as if their dislike for each other grows even more."

"I have to agree with Minerva," Severus said, looking at the Headmaster. "For two young wizards who happened to be betrothed, their hatred for each other is very strong. I worry for the wizarding world. If these two don't fall in love, the downfall of the Dark Lord may never come."

"But they don't know about the betrothal," Minerva interjected. "So they're not trying to fall in love in the first place, which is what we want." She took a few steps towards the cupboard, which held Albus' pensive. "Why can't we tell them? Maybe they could at least start trying to see another side of each other, rather than remaining in their stubborn ways."

But Severus shook his head. "We've been over this, Minerva. It isn't our place to tell them. And when that time comes, it has to be done with extreme caution and care. If not, all these secrets would have been for nothing. Take the example of why the Magnar daughter was sent to live with the Grangers."

"Yes, I see your point. If Hermione hadn't been sent to live with them, the Dark Lord would have found her out and killed her. If we tell her now that she is actually from a powerful wizarding family, we cannot predict her reaction. She might help us, or, she might turn away from the Light Side. It is all one big risk."

The room quieted as the three wizards began to think. They all seemed to be thinking about the same thing. What would it be like if things were different? What if Hermione was able to grow up a Magnar? Would there have been a better possibility of romance between the two? Or an even worse possibility? With all the power and prestige, Hermione might have grown up to be as stuck up as Draco.

But it was useless to think about "what ifs" and Severus knew that. "I should have made a love potion for them when I had the chance. Their dislike for each other will be the end of us."

"Actually," Albus said, breaking his silence, "it is not so much their dislike, its more their passion turned into anger towards the other which will put them in a situation which will be most favorable to us."

The two other professors just stared at him. How could he predict such a thing, given the circumstances? And yet, he was always right, so they kept their mouths shut.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The following Tuesday morning, the Gryffindors tread wearily to their class – Double Potions with Slytherin. Another awful class, with Snape taking points off them for the slightest reason and disgustingly favoring the Slytherins.

"Today," Snape told the class, "we are going to work on a Pleasant Dream potion. I am told Mr. Potter is quite accustomed to that potion, as Madame Pomfrey has told me she has given him quite a number of them. Too many nightmares, eh Mr. Potter?" The Slytherins snickered while Hermione and Ron tugged on Harry's sleeves to keep him from commenting to the professor's rude remark.

As Snape walked up and down the class, he began to discuss the basics of the potion and the ingredients. Ron whispered to Harry, "It shouldn't be too hard to make, now you can stop asking Madame Pomfrey for it every time you have nightmares about You-Know-Who."

Harry nodded, and jumped with a start when Snape's voice boomed, "Ten points each off Gryffindor for whispering in my class!" Ron and Harry held their tongues as they glared at the Potions professor. He smirked at them as he then said, "I will be choosing your partners for this potion. Mr. Weasley, go to Mr. Goyle over there."

Ron slunk in his seat as he saw from across the room, Goyle grinning evilly, punching his fist. Harry didn't have much luck either, as he was paired with pug-faced Pansy Parkinson.

As Hermione watched Snape pair each Gryffindor with someone from Slytherin, she prayed silently, _please don't pair me up with Malfoy again, please_. Snape had a nasty habit of pairing her up with the arrogant Slytherin every time he paired Gryffindor with Slytherin, and she was getting quite tired of having to come up with new insults every time there was class.

Snape turned around to face her, almost as if he was reading her mind. He sneered. "Ms. Granger with Mr. Malfoy." Hermione glared at him and then turned to the other side of the room where she found Draco also glaring. She sighed as she picked up her things and made her way to his desk. It looked like it was going to be another long class.

"Missed me much, Granger?" Draco drawled, referring to the fact that they almost always saw each other. It was just last night they were screaming out their lungs at each other during one of their detentions.

"Maybe its you who missed me, Malfoy," Hermione retorted coolly, "being Professor Snape's favorite pupil, surely you've influenced him to partner us up so often."

Draco smiled sarcastically at her. "But of course, he wants me to get the highest grade, after all. Making you do all the work and then giving me all the credit," he whispered in her ear tauntingly.

Hermione glared at him. Although she had to admit, he was pretty good at potions, she wouldn't put it past Snape and Malfoy for partnering her with the latter just to improve his grades. If it was one thing Hermione Granger got upset the most about, it was grades.

She opened up her textbook and scanned through the ingredients, and lined them up in the order they were supposed to be prepared and placed into the potion. From the corner of her eye, she could see Draco still sitting back in his chair, watching her. His scrutiny irritated her. "Stop watching and get to work, Malfoy," she snapped.

Without a word, he grabbed one of the ingredients and started to slice it into cubes for the potion. "Not that way!" she cried. "Slice them longtitudually then laterally."

"Geez Granger, I'll get there, just not the same way you do," Malfoy cried exasperatedly. He started slicing up the ingredient more furiously. "Would you stop being such a know-it-all!"

"I am not being a know-it-all!" Hermione yelled. "I don't want you ruining my potion! Now give me that knife before you ruin it!" As she lunged to grab the knife away from Draco, the knife accidentally sliced her finger. She squealed in pain, inadvertently knocking a few of the ingredients into the potion as she stood up.

"Good gods Granger, you shouldn't have grabbed it from me while I was using it," Draco clamored, standing up as well, trying to steady her before she hit anything else. By now the whole class was staring at them. "Now stop crying, you baby."

Hermione, who had been squeezing her cut finger glared at him with glassy eyes. "I'm not crying you git! It's just a scratch after all!"

During all the commotion, Snape had finally made their way over to them. "What is the meaning of this?! Twenty points off both of you and a detention for ruining the ingredients and the mess you've made! Ms. Granger, hurry on to the infirmary while Mr. Malfoy cleans up the remains."

Hermione nodded silently as she threw one final glare at Malfoy before hurrying out of the room. 

Snape stared Draco down before the latter finally gave up and began cleaning the mess he and his partner had made. Then realizing the silent room, Snape barked angrily at the class, "well, what are you waiting for? Finish your potions or there will be ten points taken off each of you!"

As the class scurried to finish their potions, Draco began to grumble to himself. Life hadn't been fair lately. Ever since Snape had been pairing him up with Granger in class, he had actually been _fair_ and would take points off both and give them detention, _together_. They were only in the second month of school and already Draco was hoping it would all end.

He sat back down wearily in his seat, wondering when life would be easy once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Bye Harry! Bye Ron!" Hermione waved to her two friends who were engrossed in their game of chess. "I'm off to my prefect duty."

"Bye Herm," Harry said, not looking up from the chessboard. "Have fun."

"Yeah, and good luck staying away from Malfoy," Ron added.

Hermione sighed as she stepped out of the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room. It was another night of prefect duty. And another night of seeing Malfoy. There were eight prefects in their year, two from each house, and Malfoy was one of the Slytherin prefects, while Hermione and Seamus had been chosen from Gryffindor. Usually Hermione and Seamus went to their meetings together, but ever since Seamus had hooked up with a Ravenclaw prefect, Lisa Turpin, Hermione usually ended up walking alone.

Hermione passed by the dungeons on her way to the Prefect room, and ran into Malfoy on the way. "Watch it," she hissed.

"Hurry up, Granger, we're going to be late," he retorted. They continued their walk to the Prefect room, which was, unfortunately, quite a distance from where they currently were. Both fell silent, and Hermione's thoughts began to drift.

She couldn't believe she had already made it though one month of being a prefect with Draco Malfoy. Last year there had only been one prefect per house for their year, and the Slytherin prefect then was Blaise Zabini. Though quite a snob at times, Hermione thought she was easier to work with than Malfoy. 

As Hermione threw a quick glance at Malfoy, she mused, _I bet his father paid Hogwarts to make his son a prefect, I wouldn't put it past that slimy git_. But then again, with the power of being a prefect, there was the responsibility, like the prefect duty and other assignments Dumbledore gave them. Hermione had to admit, Draco took his prefect duties seriously enough, and although she wasn't sure, he had pretty high grades, although his attitude towards schoolwork could use a lot of work. 

In the middle of her thinking, Hermione suddenly yawned. "Tired, Granger? Maybe you should skip out on tonight's duty and leave me with all the work and glory," Draco said with a smirk, knowing that Hermione would never skip her duty. She just glared at him and then rubbed her temples. She had been studying her Arithmancy homework earlier, and studying the upcoming chapter had stressed her out a bit.

As they stopped in front of the portrait leading to the Prefect room, Draco muttered the password, "Diligence." They stepped into the room, just as Professor Dumbledore was in the middle of his instructions.

He smiled at the two of them. "Ah, Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy. Do join us." Hermione and Draco took the only available couch, as the other prefects watched in silence. "There aren't any new instructions for tonight, just make sure no students are caught out of their common rooms beyond the curfew. Studying in the Library isn't permitted, Ms. Granger," he added, a twinkle in his eye, "so please return them to their respective houses. If any student caught has claims that he or she needs to talk with a professor due to utmost importance, direct them to the said professor or myself." 

All the prefects nodded at the Headmasters instructions. "Any questions?" They shook their heads. "Alright, you may split into pairs – oh wait, you already did that." He turned to Draco and Hermione who had turned slightly pale. "I guess that leaves you two to be paired together, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger," the Headmaster told them, smiling a bit too wide for their taste. "Your duty will take place at the first floor of the east wing, near Transfiguration classrooms."

Hermione turned pleadingly to Seamus, who unfortunately gave a helpless shrug as he took Lisa's hand and headed out the door for their duty. With a scowl, Draco stood up, waiting impatiently for Hermione to follow him.

As they headed for the east wing, Hermione whispered, "Lumos," lighting her wand, Draco following suit. They had been silent for some time, until Draco broke the silence.

"What Dumbledore said earlier… have you been caught in the library past curfew often?" he asked curiously.

"What's it to you?" Hermione replied quickly, shooting him a questioning look. "OK, so I was caught a few times. I was so engrossed in my work I wouldn't notice the time, and I guess Madame Pince would just forget I was there…" she trailed off giving a slight shrug of embarrassment.

Draco covered his mouth with his hand and gasped mockingly. "No! You?! Granger! Get caught past curfew? It's a surprise it didn't prevent you from becoming a prefect," he laughed.

Hermione threw him a look. "I'll have you know, I'm the top of our class, and getting caught a few times will not stop me from becoming a prefect! I'm surprised your terrible attitude didn't stop you from becoming a prefect," she added. "Your father must have bought your way in!"

Before Hermione knew what was happening, Draco had grabbed her two wrists and was squeezing them tightly as he held them high. "Listen, Granger," he said, spitting out her last name, "my father did not have to buy my way in, I am capable of handling myself. I may not be as good as you, but I'm doing quite fine, mind you. And if I ever catch you insulting my family again, don't think I won't hurt you. Got it?" He asked, glaring at her.

Hermione glared back, their faces only three inches away from each other. She could feel the heat from his breath, and half his face was covered by the darkness, as their only light came from his wand; hers had fallen to the ground. "Got it, Malfoy," she replied scathingly. "Now let go of me!" she said, struggling to release herself from his grip.

His sudden release of her grip, made Hermione fall a bit, but she caught herself just in time and smoothed her fall by picking up her wand and then standing as straight as she could. She glanced down at her white wrists, which were slowly starting to turn red as the blood flowed. She rubbed them slightly; completely forgetting Draco was there until he spoke.

"How's the finger?" he asked.

She jumped a bit, and then frowned at him. "Fine, no thanks to you."

He shrugged in a non-committal manner. "You shouldn't have grabbed the knife from me in the first place, know-it-all."

"I'll keep that in mind next time, you conceited git," she shot back. They exchanged glares before finally continuing their prefect duty.

The hallways were dark, the only light coming from their wands. It was pretty cold too, and Hermione wished she was with someone she could snuggle with on a night like this. Draco was definitely out of the picture. She shivered.

Draco glanced at her. He pointed his wand at her, mumbling a few words, and instantly, Hermione felt herself warm up all over. She glanced at him in surprise. He had cast a warming spell on her. "Th-thanks," she stammered, unsure of what to say.

He merely nodded at her. "Just don't let it get out that I do stuff like that. It wouldn't be good for my rep." She glanced at him skeptically, but held her tongue. He had done her a favor after all.

As the night wore on, Hermione found herself actually grateful that Malfoy was her partner for that prefect duty. She could feel herself begin to feel sleepy, but with the arrogant boy that he was, their constant arguments kept her awake and her mind working. Draco Malfoy was her intellectual equal, she grudgingly had to admit to herself, and debating with him over several things forced her to use her mind and her cunning, and at the same time, it allowed her to learn new things.

But she would never tell him that. He was still an annoying ferret. And no matter how often she was partnered with him in prefect duty or in potions class, she still hated him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You again!" they exclaimed at the same time. A few days after their prefect duty, Draco and Hermione found themselves in the same room, waiting to receive their detention. Hermione threw up her hands in exasperation, wondering if she was doomed to spend most her sixth year in Hogwarts with her worst enemy.

"Well you don't think detention should be enjoyable, do you?" Professor McGonagall said clippingly as she entered the room. As soon as they heard her voice, the two students jumped and waited for her instructions. She glanced down at the two of them. "Come with me," she said.

In silence, they followed her. They followed her all the way outdoors… to the Quidditch field?! Draco and Hermione exchanged a look of bewilderment as McGonagall came to a stop in the middle.

"The Quidditch match earlier between Slytherin and Hufflepuff proved to be quite a dirty game, both literally and figuratively," she said, eyeing Draco. "One student had his wand and to get the quaffle or who knows what, he used magic to distract the members of the other team. It so happened that one of the members of the other team also had his wand, and retaliated."

Hermione and Draco quickly surveyed the area. It wasn't pretty. It was disgusting. The grass was pink and purple, and the hoops on one side were slimy, while the hoops of the other were covered in spider webs, complete with spiders.

"Your job is to clean up this area… without magic." The two groaned, but the professor ignored them. "The grass shall be fixed tomorrow by some of the professors, but you two can handle the hoops. There are some jars over there… do catch the spiders so that Professor Snape can make use of them for his potions class." Draco saw Hermione turn squeamish, and grinned evilly.

Professor McGonagall gave them some final instructions before leaving them alone on the field. They sat there in silence for awhile, before Hermione finally stood up and said, "Well, what are you waiting for, Malfoy. Grab one of those jars and lets start catching those spiders."

~*~*~*~*~*~

They had been working for more than three hours, and had only one slimy hoop left. Hermione fell to the ground in exhaustion. "Come on, Granger," Malfoy said impatiently, "there's one left, don't go abandoning me now."

"Give me five minutes, Malfoy," Hermione snapped back in irritation. "I'm too tired to lift another finger." She lay on the grass, looking up at the sky. "I swear, if I see another spider or its web, or another slimy hoop, I'll scream!"

After staring at her for what seemed to be the longest time, Draco gave up, tossed his rag aside, and lay down on the pink and purple grass, his head next to Hermione's, but his body facing the opposite direction. They watched the clouds move slowly, and the numerous stars twinkle. It was a beautiful night, Draco had to admit, it was such a shame it had been wasted by him working out his detention, and with the enemy.

Hermione seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as he. "Who would you bring out here? As a date, I mean."

Draco pondered this for a moment. "Pansy's too much of an old-time friend for me to enjoy this with. It's got too much of the romance mood for me to enjoy it with her. Now Megan Tyler on the other hand," he said with a wicked grin, referring to the hot, seventh-year Slytherin, "I think I could enjoy sitting here in the cold, Quidditch stands, trying to keep her warm."

"Pervert," Hermione muttered.

Draco shot her a look. "Who would you like to share this with? Potty and the Weasel?"

This time it was Hermione's turn to give him a look. "Yeah… why not? They are my best friends after all. This is actually a cool place to sit, being quiet and just thinking—"

"Just as best friends? Surely you have something going with one of them… or even both," he said, grinning suggestively. "Oohh… I get it now, you're a two-timer, Granger! Playing both of them, and yet they don't know about the other, huh?"

"Quit it Malfoy!" Hermione said warningly. "Can't you feel it? The atmosphere is so wonderful… you just want to sleep out here underneath all the stars—"

"You want to sleep out here with Potty and the Weasel? Geez Granger, I knew you guys were close, but I didn't think you guys were at that level yet," Draco said, laughing, as he sat up.

Hermione screamed in frustration, sitting up as well, and tackling Draco. "Stop putting words into my mouth! Now come on, let's finish this so that we can get away from each other as soon as possible!" She stood up, brushing herself off.

Draco stood up as well. "For the first time, I couldn't agree with you more. Let's go."

****

…to be continued…

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Thank You's go out to everyone who reviewed the Prologue and Chapter One (flames included =))!! Thanks so much! =) Please keep on reviewing!

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	4. Chapter Three

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Title: Betrothal: Chapter Three  
**Author name:** Sanna  
**Author email:** ladyswan_1@hotmail.com  
**Category:** romance  
**Keywords:** draco/hermione, romance, malfoy curse  
**Spoilers:** none  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **What would you do if you found out you were betrothed to your worst enemy? And what if you do if you found out that marrying him/her was the only way to save your family from complete evil? Read and find out how Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger put aside their differences and fell in love.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

****

Author's Note: 

Anyway, subscribe to my Betrothal Alert thread in Schnoogle so that you know when I update this story =) TC all!

__

Betrothal  
by sanna

****

Chapter Three

Narcissa Malfoy was curled up in big, soft, magically heated bed, and was reading one of her romance novels, when Lucius entered the room. He stood tall and firm near the doorway, yet he was obviously weary from that night's Death Eater activities. She looked up and smiled at her husband, before he disappeared into their luxurious bathroom to change out of his dirty, black robes.

Once her husband had thoroughly rinsed himself and had come back into the bedroom, Narcissa put her book aside and welcomed him with a hug after he had climbed into bed next to her. They sat like this in a comforting silence, as the memories of that day began to fade from Lucius' mind. The Death Eaters and their nightly activities were the farthest thing from his mind as he felt tranquility radiate in him from his wife's loving arms.

As it was their usual nightly ritual, they sat in bed and began to talk. 

"Draco will be coming home tomorrow," Narcissa said, a smile evident in her voice. She closed her eyes with happiness. They had shifted positions, and her head was now leaned against Lucius' chest, his strong arms around her possessively, and she began to imagine how wonderful the holidays would be. Her family would be complete once more.

A small smile formed on Lucius' lips at the mention of his son. He had always been proud of his son. Second highest in his class, a fine upstanding citizen, and of course, was in no danger of the Dark Lord. Lucius had taught him to be rude to muggles and muggle-borns, therefore allowing the Dark Lord to think he would soon be one of his followers. He chuckled to himself. _If he only knew_…

"I wonder if he's made progress with the Magnar girl," Narcissa pondered out loud.

Lucius scoffed. "Hardly. Before he left for the school year, all he could do was rant about her and her friends. He was upset at how she could still be at the top of their year and how she was the favorite of Dumbledore and the other professors." Lucius paused. "He was especially irritated because she 'was a muggle-born.'"

Narcissa laughed lightly and gave her husband a slight shove. 

"Well, that's your doing, so you can't really blame him for being aggravated over that detail."

"I know. Appearances must be kept up, after all. And Draco was just too young to understand my "service" to the Dark Lord. He was so impressionable, and he picked up his dislike of muggles and muggle-borns from the times I would have to act in front of the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters."

"Don't worry about it," Narcissa said, stroking her husband's hair soothingly. "Professor Dumbledore and the others are working on them. The passion they use to fuel their anger will soon be used in another way, just you wait and see." she said with an encouraging smile. Lucius smiled back at her and tenderly placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Still, I think the boy needs a little push. Time is running out." They sat there in silence for a moment. "It's been years, but I believe that it is time to tell him a bedtime story once more."

Narcissa looked up at Lucius, puzzled. And then understanding dawned on her face. 

"Okay," she agreed. "The curse?"

"Yes, and if he can handle it, you can inform him about the betrothal as well."

Burying her face in her husband's chest, Narcissa began to think and imagine what Draco's retort would be like. He could take it well and accept his responsibility…or he could throw it back in their faces and refuse. Narcissa didn't think she would be able to bare it if he turned away from them.

She looked up at her husband, and saw he looked very troubled. 

"What are you thinking about, dear?" She placed her hand over his tenderly.

He looked down at his wife and stroked her hand absentmindedly. 

"I'm just worried about the Dark Lord finding out about our plans. What we're doing is very dangerous. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you and Draco."

"You're not going to lose us," Narcissa vowed, half to convince him, but also to persuade herself. "We have a very loyal Secret Keeper. He would die before he told the Dark Lord what we're doing. Not even the Unforgivable Curses could force someone to divulge a secret put under the Secret Keeper spell."

"I suppose so…I just can't help but be anxious from time to time. But you're right. Our Secret Keeper also takes good care of Draco. I have plenty of faith in him." He gave his wife one last kiss before turning off the light and settling in for the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was early in the morning, _much too early_, Hermione thought to herself. She could hear banging on her door. 

"Go away," she mumbled to the pounding behind her door. It was so cold; she just wanted a few more minutes of blissful sleep. She snuggled down further beneath her warm comforter, trying to go back to sleep. It felt so nice…

"Wake up, Hermione!" Ron yelled behind the door. "It's Christmas morning!"

At those words, Hermione sat up with a start. Of course! She scurried out of bed, wrapping around herself a furry robe, and after barely getting her slippers on, she raced out of her room, almost crashing into Ron. 

"Merry Christmas!" she greeted him, with a wide smile and smiling eyes.

"Merry Christmas, Hermione! Come on, Harry is waiting for us in the common room. Let's go so that we can start opening presents together!" The two rushed to the Gryffindor common room, where Harry greeted them both.

"Merry Christmas!" he greeted his two best friends, enveloping them in a big group hug. "Gifts!" was all he said, making Hermione mirthfully imagine a little boy full of excitement.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the few Gryffindors that had actually stayed behind for the holidays were still in bed, leaving the three with the common room all to themselves. Apparently, it was only the trio who had been able to get enough sleep after the Christmas Eve party the night before. Harry shook his head as he remembered all the eggnog they had skipped in order to head to the common room early to have their own little celebration. He wasn't sure what time the others had come in, but he was sure that he, Ron and Hermione had gone to bed way before the others had. And now, the mood was light, and many jokes were exchanged, as the opening of gifts began. They each picked up brightly colored packages addressed to each of them, and started to open them with excitement.

Harry gave Hermione the newest edition of _Hogwarts, A History_. Hermione squealed with delight as she unwrapped it. Ron gave Harry a kit containing several items from Fred and George's newest line of mischief-makers, which Harry had received with a roguish smile. Hermione gave Ron a box of chocolates, which he happily started to devour at the mere sight of them.

Ron gave Hermione a bracelet with little bells attached to it. It was charmed to play her favorite tune, Pachebel's Canon in D. Harry gave Ron an autographed Quaffle, signed by all of the members of the Chudley Cannons, and Hermione gave Harry a Deleto-quill. It was special because it could erase any spelling or grammatical mistake he were to make while writing with it.

Ron and Harry received their annual sweaters from the Weasley's. Ron was slightly happy that for the first time, his actually looked decent. If it wasn't for the unfortunate fact that it was green, he might not have said, "There is no way I am wearing this during school!" to Harry and Hermione after carefully, and secretly admiring his mother's work.

The Dursley's hadn't even bothered to give Harry a gift this year. 

"I've gotten too brave and outspoken at home for them to tolerate me," Harry said with a grin.

While the boys talked, Hermione began to open her gift from her parents. She gasped contentedly, catching the attention of the boys. It was an exquisite picture frame, decorated in shades of royal purple and trimmed with gold and silver, and her mother and father had already put a picture in it. The picture had been taken during the previous summer, at the Granger Family Grand Reunion. Hermione smiled as she looked at it and fondly began to remember the events that had occurred that cheerful day.

Harry and Ron looked over her shoulder. 

"Wow, and I thought I had a big family," Ron mused, though he knew that Hermione had no brothers or sisters.

Hermione laughed. 

"No silly, those aren't my siblings. Those are all the Grangers, all that we know of. From my grandparents, to my numerous aunts and uncles, to cousins of all sorts, from first, to second and third-cousins."

Harry gazed at the picture thoughtfully. 

"It's strange, Hermione, all of your relatives look so much alike…but you sort of stand out." When Hermione turned to look at him funny, Harry continued. "Sure you all have brown hair, but theirs is all straight, while yours is kind of…wavy. They also have that funny nose which one notices right away, but yours is just fine." Hermione smiled slightly at his last comment, though she was just a little upset about his other comments.

"Yeah, Harry's right." Ron agreed. "I can't exactly place it, but there is something about your cousin. I can just immediately tell she's related to your uncle. It isn't something obvious, but at second glance, you really don't look much like your relatives."

Hermione pursed her lips at their words. She supposed that to a certain degree they were right, but who likes to be told that they don't look like the members of their family? She just gave her best friends a shrug. 

"I don't know, but remind me to mention that to my parents when summer break comes along."

Just then, the other Gryffindors began to come out of their rooms, most of them were heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. The trio began to head for the Great Hall as well, until Hermione noticed one more package underneath the tree. It was addressed to her. Strange, there was no sender's name. 

"Go ahead," she told the two, as she began to wonder about the strange gift. Why hadn't she noticed it earlier?

The two boys nodded, and raced to the Great Hall, as they were already very famished. Hermione stared at the package for the longest time, wondering what could be in it. Should she open it, she wondered. What were the chances of it being unsafe? Hesitantly, she began to tear at the wrapping.

It was a book, however, not just any book. Hermione traced a finger down the delicate cover. _The Most Powerful Light-Sided Wizards of All Time_, the title read. Intrigued, she began to flip through the pages, merely browsing. She turned the page and found the Aetherinore family. It was a picture of a small family. A woman, and man, and their son. She flipped the page. The next picture was of a family called the Magnar Family. There was a picture of an elegant couple, and Hermione tilted her head, wondering why she couldn't stop staring at that page. She felt drawn to it strangely.

She shook her head and laughed. If the boys could only see her now, what a bookworm she must be. After closing the book, she carefully put it inside her room with her other presents. She hesitated, not exactly wanting to leave it, but then she quickly pushed it out of her mind as she felt a growling noise in her stomach. She needed to eat.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Surveying his room, Draco decided with fulfillment that it had been a good day. He had gotten his usual vast heap of gifts, and he was very pleased that most of them were extremely satisfactory. That evening's feast had been a perfect way to end his Christmas day in the Malfoy Mansion. The exotic foods created by house-elves from all over, lots of wine passed around, and of course his family, made it complete.

Draco changed into his green and black silk pajamas and climbed into bed. But he didn't go to sleep right away. He put on his reading glasses, and on the desk next to his bed, was a book, _Transi de Froid_, which he opened up and began to read. He was already at an intense moment in chapter six, when a light knock was heard on his door. He looked up and saw the beauty that was Narcissa Malfoy. He smiled. "Mother," he said, acknowledging her presence.

She smiled back, laughing lightly when she saw that he was reading in bed. 

"It seems you've picked up one of my habits, Draco." She made her way to the edge of Draco's bed and sat down. Draco moved aside to give her more room. The polite gesture was unnecessary, as his bed was big enough for three people, but that didn't stop Draco. "I always have to read a book before I sleep," she confessed to her son. 

"It became a habit when I grew too old for your bedtime stories and still needed one to help me sleep," he told his mother as he fondly remembered his childhood.

Narcissa's smile grew even wider. He had just given her an ideal opening. 

"You're never too old for bedtime stories. Would you like me to tell you one tonight?"

Draco hesitated, thinking it over. It couldn't hurt. He had loved his mother's stories. 

"Okay, but just this once," he said, which had prompted an enchanting laugh on his mother's part. When Narcissa had fully gotten onto the bed, Draco had scooted over next to her, leaning his head on her shoulder like he used to, as he waited for her to begin her tale.

"Once upon a time, there were two handsome young wizards. One was a poor pureblood, while the other was an orphaned half-blood. Both had grown up bitter at life's cruelty and with a desire for revenge and power on those who had what they could not. They met, became best friends, and began to plot out their future by beginning to dabble in the Dark Arts."

Draco knew he was way too old for bedtime stories, but there was something about his mother's calming voice, and vivid words; he didn't seem to mind going back in time, feeling like he was six once more. He watched his mother as she spun her tale and felt himself being drawn into the story, able to picture every single detail.

"But one thing stood between the two friends. One wanted to kill all muggles, muggle-borns and muggle-lovers, while the other, merely wanted to eliminate the muggle-borns in school. This caused a rift between the two wizards, and soon they began to distrust each other."

Narcissa tried to tell the story to Draco as calmly as possible, trying to give no indication that it was a true story, so close to their family. As she saw the fascinated look in his eyes, Narcissa couldn't help but wonder once more what his reaction would be once she finished her tale.

"They had reached their separate goals soon after their schooling. Through the Dark Arts, the poor pureblood had obtained the wealth he had desired, and the orphaned half-blood had received the power he had craved for so long. But the issue on killing muggles and muggle-lovers still stood between them." Narcissa paused dramatically for effect. "One day, the pureblood turned away from the half-blood. The latter had already obtained much power. He cursed the pureblood and all of his descendants. They were to forever serve him."

Draco made a face, "This half-blood didn't turn them into goblins or whatever, right? Like the one that has to serve Uncle Pheus for the rest of eternity?"

His mother laughed nervously. 

"No, the pureblood and his family still remained wizards. They still had the wealth they rightfully had obtained, they were just doomed to serve the other wizard for the rest of eternity."

"Purebloods were not meant to work for half bloods," Draco said snootily in reply.

Biting her lip, Narcissa said gently, "Draco, I know you've been following your father's way of thinking, but you mustn't judge the muggle-borns and half-bloods due to their blood and upbringing. If they were intelligent and had a high enough magical proportion, they must be decent wizards and witches. Don't judge a book by its cover, as cliché as it sounds. The half-blood you insult could become the greatest wizard in the world, or the muggle-born you despise could become the most important person in your life later on." Narcissa knew she was very close to telling Draco the whole truth now.

Draco raised an eyebrow, and then shrugged. He then saw the serious look on his mother's face. He then became solemn, waiting for her to continue.

"Draco, that half-blood, his name was Tom Riddle." After looking at her son realizing all that she was getting was a bewildered look, she proceeded. "He changed his name when he became the most powerful Dark wizard around. He is now known and feared as Lord Voldemort."

Although Draco was used to both his parents calling the Dark Lord by his chosen name, a chill still ran down Draco's spine all the same. 

"The Dark Lord? He's the one in this story?" Draco normally never panicked, but here was his mother, telling him this out-of-this-world bedtime story, and now she was telling him it was real! "A half-blood who wants to kill muggle-borns and muggle-lovers? He's insane!"

"Before you freak out son, there is more to this story," Narcissa said, then took a deep breath. "The pureblood's name was Auctor." Draco's eyes shot up in recognition. "Auctor Malfoy."

"No! It can't be! We really do serve the Dark Lord? But father said otherwise! The Malfoy's were poor? Grandfather was stupid enough to mess with that screwed up half-blood? I will have to serve the Dark Lord?" Draco then started to mutter obscenities underneath his breath. His life was fine, he had money, he had talent, he had brains, and of course, he had the looks. Draco Malfoy had a promising future. But now…now it seemed like he had nothing.

Narcissa nodded slightly.

"There is, however, one way to break the curse," Narcissa said tentatively.

Draco looked at his mother, trying to read her expression. 

"How?"

"Every curse comes with a counter-curse, surely you must have learned that in school. When the Dark Lord was cursing his former best friend, your grandfather could hear voices in his head. He couldn't understand what it meant at the time, but your father found his journal soon after his father died and after he had come under the service of the Dark Lord. He was able to figure out what it meant and what we needed to do to break the curse."

"What did Auctor Malfoy hear?"

"At the time, he thought he was going crazy, and afterwards, he was too grieved to give it much thought. But he had heard the strangest voice. It was as if the voices were condemning him to a fate worse than death, and yet, they were giving him a shard of hope." Narcissa paused. "Your grandfather had heard:

'_Friend turned traitor,   
must forever serve,   
the Lord now known as Voldemort.   
Heir after heir,   
Malfoy's shall obey,   
until the day, the Queen of the Light,   
shall bow down,   
and love the dragon of Malfoy.   
Only then,   
shall the Dark Lord be defenseless,   
and the Heirs of the Founding Four,   
shall bring down the Master of the Dark_.'"

Draco didn't think he had ever heard anything as cryptic as that. He noticed his mother staring at him intently. 

"What?" he asked.

"Draco, did you ever wonder why we gave you your name?"

Draco stammered, knowing fully well that his name was Latin for the word 'Dragon.' 

"Father once said you two had been traveling in Romania looking at dragons right before you conceived me."

Narcissa thought for a moment. 

"No, we did travel to Romania once, but that wasn't where you were conceived. While you were in my stomach, and even after you were born, you had such a temper, the name seemed so fitting. But the main reason we gave you that name, was because we had so much hope in you. We wanted you to save us from this misery. You are our dragon, Draco."

Draco backed away a bit, as far as he could from his mother without falling off the bed. This was just too much for him to handle. First he had been dumped the responsibility of having to serve the Dark Lord. Now he had been given the responsibility of having to love some witch, or whatever the Queen of Light was. He wasn't sure. 

"I- I can't just love some witch, mother. What if it's Pansy? Or worse, what if she's not even a witch? What if I don't find that queen? I could make some mistake and—"

"Draco…you are already betrothed to her."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks later, Draco was preparing to depart once more for Hogwarts. Ever since his mother had told him about the family curse and his pending betrothal, Draco had been extremely quiet. Anytime his parents had asked him a question, Draco gave them short replies and then he would quickly fall back into his own world.

His parents were worried, and he knew it. But he couldn't quite bring himself to caring at the moment. They had given him too much to think about. Too many decisions to make, or rather, no choices left but what they wanted for him.

__

My choices, he thought to himself bitterly. _To marry someone I don't know or to serve the Dark Lord. Father never told me he was in _his_ service; when Potter had accused him, I had believed father when he had said Potter was lying. And now he tells me he and grandfather were forced to serve him. Ha!_

Draco had so many questions, but he didn't want to ask his parents. He felt too betrayed to do so. _What would it be like to serve the Dark Lord? Is my betrothed pretty? Is she nice? Will she be controlling or demanding? What happens after we marry? Why _**me**_?_

The house elves had packed most of Draco's belongings, from his beautiful clothes to expensive and numerous toiletries. But Draco was packing the more personal belongings into a bag he could bring with him on the train, like his books and other meaningful things. He looked up at his enchanted clock. It told him that it was time to leave for Hogwarts.

He put his backpack on one shoulder, and carried his school robes in his other hand. Draco left his room, and found his father waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Narcissa was unavailable and could not accompany him to the train station. Draco didn't care for once; his father was the less talkative one in the pair, and the less words said, the better.

They had only been sitting in the finely furnished carriage in silence for five minutes, when Lucius finally spoke. 

"Son, I know your mother and I have given you a lot to think about, it is a very huge responsibility. I just hope you would consider your options before you decide on…well, which ever path you choose." He looked at his son carefully. "Draco, I'm very proud of you, and even if you choose…to turn us down, you will still be my son, and that will never stop me from loving you." Lucius felt a tightening across his chest, unaware that Draco was feeling it too. "Don't hesitate to ask me anything, especially regarding the betrothal…anything to help you decide."

"Who is she?" Draco croaked, trying to keep his emotions in check.

Lucius tensed. "That, I am afraid, I cannot tell you." Draco's face then hardened, and Lucius was afraid that it would make Draco turn away from them. "I will, however, tell you which amazing wizarding family she comes from."

Draco looked up at his father inquiringly, preparing himself. He wasn't quite sure what he was preparing himself for actually. He didn't know if it were to be a name he would recognize and dislike, or a name that would bring shivers down his spine. He just wasn't sure.

"Your betrothed comes from the family called Magnar."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Careful not to make any noise, Draco silently slipped out of the Slytherin common room. Moving slower than he normally would, Draco didn't want to bump into anything that would make a sound and attract unwanted attention, and at the same time, he didn't dare light his wand, for fear someone would see him.

Ever since his father had given him his betrothed's name, Draco couldn't get the thought out of his head. He had some crazy idea, which he couldn't get rid of: find out about the family, trace the whereabouts of the daughter, and figure out what to do from there. If she was ugly, well…he wasn't quite sure what he'd do about that. He'd have to give it some more thought and consideration. 

As soon as the train had arrived at Hogwarts, he had left his luggage for the house elves to put away and raced to the Library. Unfortunately, even after spending hours of searching, Draco still hadn't found what he was looking for and was feeling very frustrated. And everyone knew that a frustrated Draco wasn't a good thing.

It was strange that a "Queen of Light" wouldn't be mentioned in any of the books he could get his hands on here at Hogwarts. Her family wasn't even mentioned at all anywhere. Draco was beginning to wonder if his parents had made up the whole story for their amusement. But then he realized that if she was indeed a way to help save them all, she and her family were probably kept hidden from almost everyone. If they were well known, the Dark Lord probably would have killed her by now.

__

Desperate times call for desperate measures, he thought to himself as he made his way to the Library for the second time that day. He realized that what he was looking for must be in the Restricted Section of the Library, and he waited until everyone was sound asleep before he made his way there. Being a prefect had its advantages, for he knew certain schedules and such. Also, there was no prefect duty that night, no one waiting to catch him, but that didn't stop him from being cautious. He was just more determined now.

"Finally," he muttered underneath his breath as he arrived at his destination. Checking to make sure no one was following him, Draco entered, and was about to head over to the Restricted Section, when, from the corner of his eye, he saw a light coming from one of the Library lounges. Curiously, he decided to check it out.

Draco soundlessly opened the door and saw Hermione sprawled across one of the couches reading from a book intently. 

"Granger," he couldn't help but drawl. "What a…surprise." At that moment, Draco temporarily forgot his mission and was distracted by Hermione's presence.

Startled, Hermione jumped up, knocking her book down to the ground. When she saw realized whom the voice had come from, she glared. 

"Malfoy. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you," he retorted, casually strolling in her direction. "I suppose Dumbledore knows of your late night activities…the way he lets you Gryffindors get away with it, disgusting," he scowled.

"He presumably knows, but doesn't allow it," she shot back, angry that he was insulting the Headmaster without reason. "Remember what he said to me during that one Prefect duty?"

Draco pursed his lips. 

"And you still disobey? My, my, aren't we the little rule-breaker?" he hissed, his face moving closer and closer towards hers.

Hermione's glare faltered. 

"I- I just couldn't concentrate in the Gryffindor common room, what with everyone catching up after the holidays and all. Forget my room, having both Lavender and Parvati as roommates, I'm surprised I get any sleep at all."

"A likely story," Draco smirked. He then bent down and picked up her book. He froze as he read the title. _The Most Powerful Light-Sided Wizards of All Time. _This might be the exact book that he needed. He looked back up at her and glared, as he flipped through the pages, trying to act as casual as possible as he searched for the Magnar family. _Found it_, he thought to himself. His hands started to shake a bit, as he saw the page, not knowing that it was the same page Hermione had been reading before he entered.

Hermione placed her hands on her hips angrily. 

"Hello? Earth to Malfoy! Answer my question!"

Draco's head snapped up, unaware that Hermione had been talking to him while he had been searching. 

"Huh? What?" he stuttered, as he closed the book, somewhat quickly.

"What are you doing up this late? And could you please give me back my book?" she asked, extending her right hand, while still giving him a pointed look.

Draco thought for a while, trying to figure out the best way to borrow the book from her. He certainly couldn't ask her for it nicely, that just wasn't him. He couldn't just take the book and run, sooner or later, she'd catch up to him, and she'd do her best to find out why he wanted it. The more he thought, the more he felt her growing impatience. Best to get it over with already. 

"Could I borrow this book for a while, Granger?"

This caught Hermione by surprise. 

"Why?"

Draco stumbled for a moment as he tried to figure out what to say. 

"I need it for some research. An assignment I wasn't able to complete over the holidays because I lacked certain pieces of information."

Hermione stared at him skeptically. Somehow she doubted that that was his real reason, but she had seen a flash of need on his face and knew that he wasn't just playing with her. 

"Fine, but return it to me tomorrow…before lunch. And don't you dare try hexing it, Draco Malfoy!"

He smirked in reply. 

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your precious book." He was about to put it in his bag when she stopped him.

"Um, Malfoy? Could I just see it for a moment? I'll give it back." He handed it to her curiously. She opened it up and flipped to a page he couldn't see. She stared at it intently, and then handed it back to him. She just wanted one more looked at the family she hadn't been able to get put of her head since she came across the book. 

Draco slid it into his backpack, giving her a weird look.

A yawn came from Hermione, and she realized just how tired she was. 

"I'll head off to the Gryffindor tower to sleep now, Malfoy," she said, as she brushed past him when she headed for the door.

"To sleep, perchance to dream?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

This time, Hermione knew he was playing with her. He had just quoted one of Shakespeare's lines from Hamlet, which implied death. As they left the lounge, she whispered the spell to turn off the lights. She would show him she was up to his verbal competition.

"No, I hate dreaming. I don't get any rest when I do," she answered, taking the statement literally to confuse him.

Hermione started to make her way out of the Library, when she heard him say, Draco smirked, clearly pleased that Hermione was up to his challenge. "Then dream not, Granger. You will merely be a slave to your sleep if you do."

Although he wasn't making any sense at all, Hermione didn't dare let him have the last word. She had too much pride in her to let herself look like a fool in front of him.

"We aren't slaves, Malfoy. We will always have a choice." She wasn't making any sense either, but Hermione tried her best to sound as if she did, hoping she was confusing him as much as he was confusing her.

"How can you choose not to dream, when sleep you must?" he asked in reply, as he followed her out the door. They stood once more, face to face, as Draco shut the door behind them. He could feel the tension radiate between them, and at the same time, he hadn't felt this calm in a long time.

"Answer me!" he said, after she remained silent for a few moments.

Hermione sighed as she turned away from him. "Malfoy, I don't see what you're getting at, but let me say this. I choose to be free from your demand for me to reply to you. Goodnight," she added shortly, as she turned and walked away.

To her surprise, she heard Draco chuckle behind her. 

"Then you owe your freedom to me, for I made you choose. Goodnight, Granger. Dream well, rest not." With another chuckle, he disappeared into the shadows, leaving Hermione puzzled as she made her way to the Gryffindor tower. It was just one of those nights, she supposed, where nothing made sense.

****

…to be continued…

****

Authors Note:

Special thanks goes out to my beta readers! **Vicky Law**, **Danielle James** and **Jessica Kim**! Thanks so much guys! This chapter would have been really bad without you! =)

The "book" Draco was reading from in one of the scenes, _Transi de Froid_, a story written by **Incitata**, is actually a story found on ffn.net. Check it out! It's a terrific D/Hr fic! Look it up!

I apologize for the confusng last scene. I really wanted to write it in as one of Draco and Hermione's arguments, because it really did happen to me. What can I say, the guy I liked was really weird, hehehe. (vanessa, shhhh!) And we did fight a lot, just like how I imagined D/Hr would. I hope you enjoyed the scene thought =)

****

Thanks so much to my reviewers! Especially for waiting so patiently! =)

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	5. Chapter Four

****

Title: Betrothal: Chapter Four  
**Author name:** Sanna  
**Author email:** ladyladyswan@hotmail.com  
**Category:** romance  
**Keywords:** draco/hermione, romance, malfoy curse  
**Spoilers:** none  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **What would you do if you found out you were betrothed to your worst enemy? And what if you do if you found out that marrying him/her was the only way to save your family from complete evil? Read and find out how Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger put aside their differences and fell in love.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

****

Author's Note: I know, I know, the last time I posted a chapter I said I was half-way done with the next. Well, life's a bitch. Even vacation is stressful. It's ironic that I found the time and inspiration to continue this chapter while I was stuck in the middle of doing my history paper for my super duper terror senile teacher. I have three more papers to do for him in the next two months, wish me luck!  
I haven't read OoTP yet, for lack of time, plus no motivation. I think I'm sticking to fanon until JKR comes out with a D/Hr filled book, hee :) Anyway, so please don't email me telling me I got some fact wrong according to the book. Thanks!

Please subscribe to my Schnoogle Story Alert List so that you know when I update this story =) It's much easier than leaving me your email addresses, or worse yet, your forum ids, so I have to manually find add all your addresses to my update list.  
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*** Thanks and enjoy! :)

  
**Previously on _Betrothal_:** The Malfoy's had some quality time together, Hermione got an interesting Christmas gift, Draco learns of his betrothal, borrows Hermione's book and has an intersting yet confusing conversation with her.

Wow, as long as my chapters seem, summing them up is really easy. How sad. Anyway, read along for the much awaited fourth chapter.

__

Betrothal  
by sanna

****

Chapter Four

The following morning, Professor Snape entered the Slytherin common room doing his regular check-ups, expecting it to be empty, as it was time for breakfast. He was surprised to discover Draco sitting by the fire on one of the couches. He was reading his book intently, and jumped in surprise, when the professor tapped him on the shoulder.

"Not hungry, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked his favorite student. Professor Snape had a fondness for the boy and the two seemed to have a bond similar between that of wise mentor and a diligent student.

"Not really, Professor Snape. So I decided to make use of my extra time and read."

The professor was surprised to see his student reading a book on powerful light-sided wizards. Could he possibly know, Severus wondered. He took a step to the left of Draco so that he could better see what he was reading. Severus' brow furrowed as he saw the Magnar family on the page Draco was reading from. What were the chances of it being a random coincidence that Draco had chosen to read up on this family?

Draco saw the look of puzzlement on the professor's face and assumed he was wondering why Draco was reading about them. He pointed to the picture of the Magnar couple on one of the pages. "There's something so familiar about them, I just can't put my finger on it. It's like I met one of them before, but I didn't realize it." He laughed. "It's impossible though, because they disappeared almost sixteen years ago." Professor Snape was Draco's favorite professor and he confided in him more than he confided in anyone besides his parents.

Draco was so busy looking at the picture and trying to find a connection with someone he knew, that he failed to see the professor's already stiff posture stiffen even more. "Has Professor Binns assigned this reading for his class? Or is there another reason you're reading this book? And looking up this certain Light-side family?" Severus asked, trying not to let any emotion show in his voice.

The blonde boy hesitated. "Do I need a reason?" he asked in a defensive drawl he usually reserved for Gryffindors.

"No, no reason, I was just curious, Mister Malfoy." Severus tried to choose his words carefully. He was waiting for Draco to let down his defenses.

Should I tell Snape or not, Draco wondered. Considering he didn't know about the betrothal until recently, he doubted that it was something several people should know and talk about. But then he remembered his mother once telling him a long time ago, that Professor Snape was to be trusted with anything. He didn't understand the relationship between his parents and his potions professor, but maybe it explained why the professor favored him so.

Draco looked around to see if there was anyone else in the common room, he didn't want anyone to overhear what he was about to say. When he was convinced no one was eavesdropping, he opened his mouth and began to speak. "Over the holidays… my parents told me I was betrothed… to the Magnar daughter. I had no clue as to who they were, so I decided to look them up."

Draco watched carefully as he saw several emotions cross the professor's face briefly. He felt his breath catch in his throat. "You knew about it, didn't you?" he asked accusingly, "You know something I don't, don't you?" He couldn't believe it. How many more knew? Was he the last one to know?

Professor Snape turned away from Draco's face and looked into the fire. "Yes," was all he said.

Draco wasn't sure whether he should feel betrayed. Why had they all kept this a secret? Who else knew? Did she know? "Tell me," he said hoarsely. "Tell me who I'm supposed to marry. I need to know."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione sighed as she flopped facedown on her bed and rolled over to her side to pick up a book from her table. She whispered the spell to turn on the light on top of her desk as she sat up comfortably on her bed as she began to read.

She was alone in her room today with nothing to do. Her homework for the next three weeks was done and she had left Ron and Harry in the common room to finish their homework, which was due the following day. She had left, not wanting them to get into the habit of copying off her work, but she realized without her down there nagging them, they were probably flirting with Lavender and Parvati.

Halfway through her romance novel, Hermione found herself closing her eyes dreamily, imagining herself in the heroine's place. She laughed ruefully though after that thought, she didn't even have a prince charming, how could she fall in love with him in some wonderfully romantic way? Even if they were only at the flirting stage and weren't involved, at least Ron and Harry had someone to picture themselves liking. Hermione didn't find any guy worth liking in that way at all. She turned her eyes back towards the text.

__

Drew laughed maliciously. "You fancy me, don't you? Poor little Diane, she's fallen for little ole me, her worst enemy, the hunky, yet intelligent man around, who also happens to have the most gorgeous singing voice you've ever heard."

Diane's eyes widened with rage. "I do not like you the slightest, you little prat! You have got to be the most arrogant boy I've ever met! You can't even do proper public speaking! For a guy with your small stature, I don't even see why so many girls have crushes on you! And let's forget about the guys who like you as well! They must be blind! You're terrible, and you're—"

But Diane was cut off. One moment she was ranting to Drew about all of his flaws and how much she hated him, the next moment she found him pressing his lips to hers and exchanging the hottest kiss she had ever experienced.

"…You're the most terrific kisser I've ever met." Diane finished saying, much softer than before, but still loud enough for Drew to hear as he was only two inches away. Ignoring the small smirk that had formed on his face, Diane roughly pulled him closer to her as she returned the hot and passionate kiss with her enemy.

Hermione found herself sighing again. She found the story completely romantic. Love-Hate stories were her favorites, the idea of falling hopelessly in love with someone you hate with every inch of yourself. Falling in love with your friend or just any regular cute guy was such a common plot, which Hermione found boring because she knew it was easy to confuse friendship and admiration with lust. To fall for someone you hated was something you couldn't control, something that made her tingle and feel so electrifying.

But then again, Hermione thought sourly, she had no enemies who she would want to fall in love with. All the guys she disliked weren't just prats, they were disgusting prats. Hermione pictured all the guys she disliked... most of them were from Slytherin, she realized. Goyle, Crabbe, eww, yuck, never, she thought. Marcus Flint, no thanks, that sadist. Draco Malfoy… Hermione mused, then shuddered. Cute he was, but falling in love with that prick wasn't a nice thought. They would probably try to one-up each other the whole time.

She began to digress her former thoughts and went back to her book. Drew and Diane would have made a cute couple, she thought, as Drew was a bit on the short side and Diane even shorter. They were perfect for each other, even their level of passion matched. Hermione tried to see herself in Diane, but failed, as Diane was a very popular girl. Hermione had several friends, but she had doubts she would have had as much if she hadn't been smart and willing to help people study. Drew on the other hand, the weirdo that he is, was considered cute by a number of girls. Hermione giggled, as she compared Drew to Ron. She shook her head thinking it would be too weird to like Ron, her best friend. Besides, Drew was supposed to be super vain, Ron was far from that.

Hermione found herself sighing again. It seemed she wasn't meant to be part of an exciting romance. There was no one perfect to fall for. To fall in love in a way less exciting than what she had imagined, well, that would just be settling. And Hermione Granger never settled for anything.

In the meantime, her not settling had gotten her no where. It seemed like everyone was falling in love except for her. Ginny was getting over her crush on Harry because she had started to notice Dean Thomas, and Lavender and Parvati had several crushes they had been flirting with, some of whom returned the affection. Even her two best friends had someone to like! Ron and Harry had recently confided in her their crushes, Hanna Abbot and Mandy Brocklehurst, respectively. They flirted occasionally with Lavender and Parvati, but as Harry had told her once, it was just harmless flirting.

Hermione rolled her eyes. The two boys might be her best friends, but she couldn't believe it when they had confided in her their crushes. Didn't they know she might feel weird? Especially without having her own crush. Hermione then realized why she was probably having such a hard time finding her perfect someone. She was considered as one of the guys. That little detail probably scared off all possibilities.

Harry and Ron were great as friends, she could tell them lots of things and not have to worry about getting a biased view like what she could get from her girl roommates. They were also very protective of her, and although Hermione loved the feeling, she realized that other boys must be very intimidated by that fact.

Hermione sighed again. Maybe she wasn't destined for romance.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Potions professor was silent for the longest time. With each passing second, Draco could feel the suspense and resentment build up inside of him. "I should have known you wouldn't tell me," Draco said bitterly. "Its not like anyone tells me anything. I'll probably find out who she is the minute before we get married."

Severus bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to find the right words to say. "I'm not sure if I am at liberty to tell you, Mister Malfoy. In fact, I was surprised to discover you knew about the developments. How much do you know?"

Draco pursed his lips in thought. What harm could there be in telling Professor Snape? He probably knew more than he did. Even if it was his own betrothal. "My mother told me about You-Know-Who," Draco said, not using the Dark Lord's name in case Professor Snape was uneasy with it, even though the Malfoys weren't, "and how he became the Dark Lord and how my family came into his service."

"She also told me how we can get out, and that I'm betrothed to a girl whose family is so into the light-side, she can get us out of old Voldie's clutches," he said with a smirk, watching as the professor's expression turn exasperated as the blonde boy made fun of the name he despised. "My dad gave me the name of the family, Magnar. So I got curious, wanting to know more about my betrothed, so I looked up their family. There's no mention of a daughter though. And so I don't know what to do." 

Draco hesitated. "I was hoping you could help me, Professor."

Severus' fingers stroked the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. So Draco didn't know to who exactly he was betrothed to. But was it his duty to tell him who? His own parents hadn't told him, even though they had already told him so much. They probably figured he would be horrified and would rebel.

The professor started taking slow steps around the room, deep in thought. Of course, there were ways to lessen the impact of the blow. He could give hints to the Malfoy heir, hints that would lead him to like and maybe even admire his betrothed.

Annoyed by the silence from Professor Snape, Draco interrupted the professor's thoughts. "Look, I know you don't want to tell me who she is. But couldn't you at least give me a few clues? At least satisfy my curiosity a bit."

A small smile found its way to Severus' face. He couldn't believe his luck. Draco Malfoy had given him just the opportunity he needed. He turned back swiftly to his favorite student. "Okay, ask and I will answer the questions I deem possible."

"Is she pretty?" Draco asked right away, a question that had been plaguing him since he had discovered his fate.

"Oh, I do believe so. Quite up to your standards."

Draco smiled triumphantly, a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. At least he wouldn't have to put up with someone horrible looking for the rest of his life. "Has she ever gone to school? I don't want to put up with an ignorant wife. I'd sooner marry a house elf!"

"She's very intelligent I can assure you."

Draco frowned. "Very intelligent? That might be a bad thing. I don't want her contradicting me every time, and correcting me for every little mistake." Draco was so busy picturing his future wife, he didn't notice the professor wince slightly.

"Have I ever met her?"

Professor Snape grimaced. Now how was he going to get around this one? "Possibly… probably… yes," he said with a defeated sigh.

Now Draco looked very interested. His mind was spinning with all sorts of possibilities. He looked up at his favorite professor and asked in a timid voice that one never would have assumed came from Draco Malfoy, "Am I really not supposed to know who she is, Professor?"

Severus sighed. "No, I don't suppose so. The details were kept from you because you were too young to understand the importance of the situation. Now that you're older, and can handle the responsibility, I guess it is time for you to know. Although I'm still not sure how you'll handle the news. We're not even sure how she'll handle the news. You know more than she does actually," he added, hoping to give Draco's ego a boost of confidence.

"Really? Well, I'm not surprised, being the male, I'm naturally more calm in situations like these," Draco boasted, and Severus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Professor, I do believe I'm pretty courageous to marry someone I barely know. But my parents had so much faith in me, it's the right thing to do."

Because Snape remained silent, Draco fell back into his thoughts about her. She was pretty, smart, and he knew her. What else did he want or need to know about her? She was the daughter of a light-sided family, eliminating all girls with Slytherin traits. "If she's going to help me fulfill this prophesy, she's probably got to be as brave as me," he mused out loud.

"But of course," Professor Snape agreed.

Draco fell silent as a new thought crossed his mind. "Brave… surely she isn't from Gryffindor, please say she isn't, Professor Snape!"

When Severus turned to look away, Draco felt the dread fill him. No, not an annoying Gryffindor. What kind of life would he have? Wouldn't he have to protect his wife? How could he if she was a silly Gryffindor who would jump into danger at any cost? 

Draco tried to look at the bright side. Not all Gryffindors were that bad. Some, in fact, were very easy on the eyes. In his mind's eye, he pictured Lavender Brown as his wife, almost forgetting the fact that she wasn't very intelligent and couldn't possibly be his betrothed.

He sighed when he realized this. Draco tried to keep in mind that not all Gryffindors were bad. "It could be worse, I suppose. I could be betrothed to Hermione Granger," Draco scoffed. And then he laughed. "That would be a laugh. Married to her, I don't think I'd survive her constant nagging. She'd probably—"

Draco stopped talking when he noticed the Potions professor pale and straighten up instantly. "Professor Snape, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Severus said dismissively, not meeting Draco's eyes.

"What's wrong? Was it something I said? I—" Draco's words died in his mouth as he instantly realized what made the professor pale.

"No. It can't be! Please! Not her! Anyone but her!"

Professor Snape turned back to look at his favorite student. He gave him an apologetic look. "I'm regret that I am the one to inform you, Mister Malfoy, but it is true. She is your betrothed."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco sat on his bed, alone in the room. His roommates and anyone who occasionally dropped by quickly left as they were swift to notice him sulking. No one ever wanted to be near him when he was in a sour mood, and that's just the way he liked it.

Despite his solitude, Draco refrained from ranting out loud. Walls had ears, and Draco thought he would die if anyone found out he had to marry Granger. Marry Hermione Granger, he thought to himself bitterly, what kind of life would that be? The pain and suffering that it would bring would be equal to that of serving the Dark Lord. What a choice!

[start of dream sequence]  
_"Draaaaaco! Get over here this _instant_!" Hermione yelled at him, her voice being heard all over the Malfoy manor._

Draco rushed indoors, wondering if his house was under attack by the way Hermione was yelling. "Where are you_?" he called out to her, checking in every room he passed by, looking for his wife._

"Over here you idiot_!" she yelled in return._

"Where is here_?" he muttered to himself, cursing his wife for not giving him much information to go on. Finally, he found herself in the library, her arms crossed in front of her stomach, glaring at her husband as if he had betrayed her. "What's wrong?" he asked her breathlessly, collapsing into a chair now that he knew everything was fine._

"What's wrong_? _Everything's wrong_! This puny library of yours has run out of books for me to read!"_

"Puny_?!" He stood up and screamed at her, insulted by her words. "I'll have you know this largest private library in all of _England_!"_

"Big deal," she grumbled. "I've read all these books already. I'll need you to take me to Flourish and Blotts soon to purchase more books."

"More books_?" Draco exclaimed in disbelief. "Why should _I_?"_

Hermione rolled her eyes as if he was stupid. "Because_ these next nine months I'm going to spend cooped up in this manor are going to be agony! I'll need new books for me to read when I'm bored in between reading the new baby books you're also going to have to purchase for me, by the way."_

"Baby books_?"_

"Oh, haven't I mentioned to you yet? You're going to be a father soon. Now hurry up and get your coat. We need to leave for Diagon Alley soon."  
[end of dream sequence]

Draco opened his eyes and growled in frustration. Eww, there was no way he was going to have a baby with her! Over his dead body! He extended his arm to his night table, looking for something to throw at the wall. When he looked at the object in his hand, he realized it was Hermione's book, and that he was supposed to return it soon, it was almost time for lunch.

He got up, headed for his bathroom and was horrified to see how terrible he looked. After a change into good, clean, expensive robes and applying much hair gel, Draco stood in front of his mirror, furiously styling his hair. He wasn't satisfied with his hair today, it seemed so plain to him.

But the mirror smiled at him and said, "My, don't you look handsome today. Will you be meeting a special girl today?"

Draco glared at the mirror. "No, no special girl, not special at all!" Why am I trying to look decent, he asked himself. I shouldn't even bother. He threw down the comb in disgust and quickly left his room.

He was on his way to the Library, the only other place he knew Hermione would be other than the Gryffindor tower, but as he passed by the Great Hall, he saw her seated at her table, reading a book. She was one of the few students hanging out in the Great Hall right before lunch, and Draco figured it was safe to approach her.

When he was only ten feet away, Hermione could feel his presence and quickly closed her book, stuffing it back into her bag. She looked at him, frowned and said, "Malfoy. What are you doing here in the Great Hall this early?" thinking he was up to something bad.

Draco gave her his famous smirk. "In case you've forgotten, Granger," he drawled, "you asked me to return your book right before lunch, so here I am." He took out the book from his robe and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione took it from him, looking back and forth between her book and Draco, eyeing him suspiciously. "Thanks, Malfoy," she said shortly, abruptly turning in the other direction, waiting for him to leave.

Draco raised an eyebrow as he watched Hermione as she tried to ignore him. Who does she think she is? She's my betrothed, ha, what a joke. I'll prove we aren't compatible one bit!

He sat down across from her, despite the glare she was sending him. "That book of yours was good, too bad I couldn't wait to return your book to you, it reeked of muggle."

Hermione carefully raised one eyebrow. "Whatever it is you're trying to pull, forget about it. I have enough detention because of you, and I'm really not in the mood for a fight." She took out her book and pretended to be absorbed in it, hoping he'd go away.

Draco began to sulk, for he couldn't prove to himself how incompatible they were because for once, Hermione didn't want to fight with him. How was it that she always took the fun out of everything? How was it that she always did exactly what he didn't want him to do? She was so anti-him.

"Aren't you even going to ask me what I really needed the book for?" he asked, hoping to start an argument based on academics.

"Not really," Hermione retorted. "I figure you'll say something along the lines, 'know thy enemy.'"

Draco's mouth twitched. "I'll have you know that contrary to popular belief, I have not sided with the Dark side."

"Sure… so you say… Death Eater."

Dracos's eyes grew wide in indignation. "I am not!" He grabbed the book she had been reading and threw it across the hall. "Damn you, Granger!"

Hermione's eyes then grew as wide as his had been. "Go to hell, Malfoy!" She picked up her bag, whirled it hard against him before huffily crossing the great hall to reclaim the book he had thrown.

She ignored the numerous eyes that were staring at her as she left, just as she ignored Malfoy and his screams of rage. Although she wished she could have ignored the voices of the two head professors of Gryffindor and Slytherin as they shouted in unison, "Ms. Granger! Mr. Malfoy! Detention!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

A week after the incident in the Great Hall, Hermione wearily headed up to the East Tower for that night's detention. It was Thursday, her fourth night in a row in detention with Malfoy. 

Monday had been because they had squabbled over their potion in Professor Snape's class and ruined it. 

Tuesday had happened because they had been busy yelling at each other during their prefect watch and Dumbledore had punished them for waking the students. 

Wednesday's detention was the product of misbehavior during McGonagall's class. For someone as grade and conduct conscious as Hermione, she couldn't resist transfiguring Malfoy's twig into a furry, pink feather. Needless to say, Malfoy retaliated by transfiguring her twig into mud, followed by the professor giving them both detention.

Hermione mused bitterly to herself as she recalled the pathetic reason behind her detention that evening. For once, she and Malfoy hadn't been doing anything to each other, they had both been too wiped out to care. Naturally, Harry and Ron got upset with Malfoy for being the reason for her weariness and tried to pick a fight with him over at the Slytherin table. Crabbe and Goyle leapt to Malfoy's defense and the four boys started fighting, while Hermione and Malfoy tiredly watched them fight. Professor Snape came over, took twenty house points off the four boys for fighting, then had the audacity to scold the two prefects for not preventing the fight and gave them detention.

"The gods must be against me, what did I do to deserve all this?" Hermione mumbled to herself, as she reached the top of the stairs of the tower and entered the room where she would have her detention. She found Professors McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore, along with Malfoy, already waiting for her.

As soon as Malfoy laid eyes on her, his eyes narrowed a bit before he turned to face the other direction. Hermione realized that for the past week he had been avoiding looking at her. Monday's squabble had began because she had gotten frustrated at his cool and uncaring attitude, Tuesday's had been because he didn't want to look when she had pointed a student who had scurried past them after curfew. On Wednesday, she had finally gotten sick of Malfoy being all high and mighty, ignoring her, as if he could. But still, when he had retaliated, he hadn't looked her in the eye.

Hermione was getting more and more frustrated with the Slytherin prince, and her frustration grew as she realized she had probably started most of their fights the past few days and she might not have been in trouble had she left him alone.

"Glad you could join us, Ms. Granger," Professor Dumbledore said coolly, a faint twinkle in his eye. He looked a bit tired, but less harassed than the two professors behind him. Hermione winced as she wondered if she was the only troublemaker who was causing their extra stress. Some candidate she was for Head Girl.

"Tonight, you and Mr. Malfoy will be clearing out this storeroom." Hermione looked around for the first time and noticed the piles of boxes, tables and books scattered around. "Professor Vergabe, the new Dueling Professor, needs a new room for his dueling class after some rowdy first-years accidentally performed denting charms which hit the walls. Not that it can't be fixed of course, but the Professor insisted on a different room, secluded so as not to have any innocent students wandering nearby hit by any way-ward spells."

Draco glared at the Headmaster, wondering when he was going to finish with his story. "So what exactly are we supposed to do here?" he asked, receiving a glare from Granger for his rudeness.

"You two," Professor Snape answered in a sour voice, "will be placing the books neatly into these boxes, and then lining up the tables along the left side of the room, stacking them on top of each other, if possible."

"The tables and boxes will be taken away in the morning," Professor McGonagall answered in a short, clipped voice, "but in the meantime, they need to be arranged and will be your duty."

Both Draco and Hermione took another look at the room. It was huge, there must have been almost fifty tables and over a thousand books. Were they likely to live after cleaning up everything by the night's end?

As the two students stared at the room, taking in their task, Albus Dumbledore's eye twinkled brighter. Something would happen tonight. He could feel it. The passion and tension between the two had grown immensely the past year, and the saturation point was near. Something would happen soon. "We'll leave you two now, your professors and I will be back in a few hours."

Both Hermione and Draco turned back to face their professors, just in time to hear Professor Snape dryly comment, "Do try to stay out of trouble this time," before they left the room.

Hermione turned to look at Malfoy wondering if he shared her despair. He met her eyes for a split second before turning his back to her and grunted a, "let's get to work." Miffed, Hermione turned to the piles of books, while Draco started to work on moving the tables.

Shoulders tensed, Draco wondered how long Granger would continue to get him into trouble. He had been trying to ignore her the past week as he tried to absorb the fact that one day he would be married to her. Everything she did so far had made him all the more certain that he would dislike every minute of their marriage.

He listened to her work, as she took books and piled them into a box. He pushed the tables against the wall slower and softer as he listened to the sounds she made. After awhile he noticed the sounds stopped. He turned around to look, wondering what had happened. Draco saw Hermione reading the titles of the books she was holding, and he found out that, like in the past few days, he couldn't stop the insults from coming out of his mouth despite his trying. "Bookworm, do stop reading and fix those books. The sooner we're out of each other's company, the better."

Hermione glared at him, forgetting about what previously held her interest and dumped the books into the box. They landed with a loud, satisfying thud. She grabbed some more books and proceeded to pack them in neatly, but angrily. She didn't say a word, and tried to ignore him as she took her anger out on the books.

Draco had gotten what he had asked for, but wasn't pleased with the way she was ignoring him. _Who does that witch think she is? She's angry? What about me! I ought to be furious with her!_ He grabbed a table and tossed it over his shoulder. It landed on top of a stack of tables with a loud bang. 

His satisfactory smirk disappeared however when he felt something hard shove him from behind, almost toppling him over.

"Oops! Sorry, Malfoy," Hermione widening her eyes, trying to look innocent. "I was just trying to help you move the tables. I'll get back to fixing the books now." Hermione gave an I-dare-you-to-fight-me smile and sashayed to the back of the classroom to pick up more books. 

Rage almost swallowed him. Draco was trying hard not to take out his wand to hex her with the curses that were already waiting to leave his tongue. However, tried as he might, he pointed his wand towards her legs and whispered, 'Soluma Lubricusi'. And then, Hermione landed butt first on the floor.

Hermione got up and took out her wand. "What the hell was that for? Petrificus totalus!" she yelled, causing Draco fell to the floor. "Serves you right, ferret-boy," Hermione stomped over to him, intent on kicking his face. She raised her foot and instead of it landing on his face, Draco had quickly grabbed it and Hermione found herself falling to the floor again. 

Towering over her body, Draco pointed his wand on her and drawled, "You think I couldn't block that spell? Some genius you are. And don't even bother looking for you wand. It's right," he showed her another wand on his left hand, "here." Hermione gasped, and she tried to move. However, thinking fast, Draco took care of that and had Hermione's legs locked. Now pointing both wands at her, he whispered harshly, "Do you know what I can do with two wands, Granger?"

The Gryffindor prefect leaned forward and with fire in her eyes, she slapped Draco hard on the cheek.

Realizing how badly the situation was turning out, Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape rushed into the room to try to stop it. They had been waiting outside, hoping to hear anything which would give their cause hope, or deflate it completely. The latter was looking more and more possible by the minute.

With eyes blazing, Draco saw the three professors, and turned to them. "That does it!" he bellowed at them, not bothering to wonder if all three of them knew about the betrothal, although it was likely. "Magnar or not, there is no way I'm marrying _her_!" he raged, placing emphasis on the last word as he pointed to Hermione.

Hermione's eyes grew wide and she gasped. "What did you just say?"

****

…to be continued…

****

Authors Note:   
Soluma Lubricusi: a modification to slippery floor à created by Aida

Many thanks to my **beta readers**, the three wonderful "A's":  
**Aida**, who helped me ny finishing a part of the last scene I was having difficulty with;  
**Ashlee**, who found all of my grammar errors (and boy, did I want to kill myself for most of them);  
**Atasha**, who helped me with some nitpicks regarding how I should follow the canon and still be original.

Also many thanks to my wonderful reviewers at ffn:  
hyper_shark, CrystallineLily, Deeta, Stephanie, xangelcrisisx, Akili Daniels, Black Twilight, Auror Tonks, PinayAko, Dark Shadow, emily, kring, soul, Campy Capybara, heavengurl899, Chareinami-chan, Evanescence4, ringette-chick, Lady Evenstar2, Dorthey Star, Mizu Ki, soules, AmericanGirl1114, Norwegianne, greenleafchic127, s-d-g, Calypso in Love, windwalker22, puzzled-shorrty, mIsSyBiRd12, kai, alex, Bladefanatic, dizzydragon, chebetta, Darkening Sky, NimbusPrincess, Jilly H, angel25302, TiarellaCordifolia, Hoplessromantic2, Isabelle, Wander Aimlessly, a_swoops15, mystripedskirt, GeaN bLu sAppHire

(I didn't bother answering any questions which were already answered in this chapter, I hope you don't mind :))

malfunction - thanks for being the first to review chapter 4! i hope you were still excited when you got the notification for this chapter :)  
tempest child - but its so easy to let writers block win, isn't it? :) oh well, the best i can hope for is that despite writers block and a stressful real life, i will eventually finish this story and get around to finishing the others as well :)  
Dreaming One - isn't ffn such a pain? :) thanks for the praise!  
dragon-gurl3 - isnt it cool? no one can accuse me of saying the malfoy's are too ooc because so little has been written about them in canon. (well, as far as ive read anyways) :D  
Athena Linborn - im glad you like the story :) ive tried to make it as realistic at the same time doing things differently  
Lulu81 - yeah, i feel special, too bad i couldn't make chapter 4 the second review :) i hope you like the way the story is turning out!  
ash wolv - sorry for the confusing lines, it was just meant to be some one-upping banter. having exhausted all my imagination on earlier scenes, i decided to put in some lines i exchanged with some other guy which fit a love-hate scene ive always imagined :)  
xosuavisangelaox - your fic is really well written, although it would have been nicer if there was a tidier reason for why draco had to stay with the grangers. i like that hermione gets jealous in this fic, most of the fics i read have draco getting jealous...not that its a bad thing ;)  
tainted88angel - thanks for the compliments :) actually, there are a few d/hr betrothal fics floating around...but when i started this fic, there were none. just goes to show how long its taken me to write it ;)  
leonsalanna - because dumbledore and company tried to keep the magnar family a secret. in hermione's book it says they just..disappeared. so draco wouldn't be able to find them in just any book, dumbledore wouldn't have allowed any magnar info to be in any book except for the special ones :)  
pyroprincess4rmeverwood - cute idea about the interhouse parties :)  
fairylightbabe89 - im glad you like the story and thanks so much for the compliments :)  
moonsilk - dont worry, i have no intention of giving up on this story, i love it too much. i even have all the chapters written out..there arent that many left surprisingly :) i wont give up definitly, even if it takes me to 2010 :D

Please leave me a wonderful review (or not so wonderful, I like criticizing reviews too) and tell me if my story isn't realistic anymore, and how Hermione and Draco could possibly bond now that they've understood where they stand with each other. I realized my outline ends the story at chapter 7 and I kind of wanted to extend. If any of your ideas are nice, I'll be sure to use them…with your permission of course! So please review! :)


	6. Chapter Five

**Title:** Betrothal: Chapter Five  
**Author name:** Sanna  
**Author email:** ladyladyswanhotmail.com  
**Category:** romance  
**Keywords:** draco/hermione, romance, malfoy curse  
**Spoilers:** none  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary: **You've just discovered that your future has already been decided on. It's bad enough that your past isn't what it seemed to be. What's worse is that your present enemy was part of your past and will be part of your future whether you like it or not.

**Disclaimer:** I'm sure you can recognize for yourselves what does not belong to me. Personally, I'd say the way the plot was used and the words were organized belongs to me, but then again, I don't have a copyright yet, so you could probably plagiarize this. But then again, you'd have to deal with everyone who has read this story. Hee.

**Betrothal  
by sanna**

Chapter Five

_An elegant elderly couple stood before her. The man stood tall and regal, with kindness in his eyes. The woman sat in a chair in front of her husband, her expression filled with motherly love. They were strangers, and yet, they were familiar. It was like she had known them her whole life._

_Everything around them was spinning so fast. She wasn't sure where she was. First they were in a unfamiliar, yet cozy castle. Then they were in a little hut, and she could feel the presence of magic all around her. And then they were back home, the Granger's residence. For some reason in all three places, she felt a sense of belonging, a sense of comfort._

_But she couldn't focus much on their location. She was fixated on the couple before her. There was something about them, a secret she was trying to figure out. It was like they were trying to tell her, but she couldn't seem to understand._

_"We love you," the woman whispered, and the man held out a hand to her._

_"I love you," the girl hears herself saying to them. She takes a step closer, but they begin to drift away from her. "I love you!" she repeats, this time more sure._

_The older woman smiled. "Then please, love him too. If you really love us, try to accept him and love him for what he is." Then, without warning, the couple disappeared, and in their place appeared a tall, blonde boy, staring off into a distance._

_She stared at him, willing him to look at her so that she could see his face. As if he heard her silent plea, he turned slowly, until their eyes met. There was no disgust, no sneer on his face that she was so accustomed to. Instead, there was a longing look on his face, a loneliness that she could feel inside herself as well_

_Like the elderly man before him, he stood before her, extending his hand out to her. "Come with me, please. I need you."_

With a gasp, Hermione wakes up, sweat trickling down her face. "It was just a dream," she mumbled to herself, trying to convince herself that they were just mental images and nothing more.

She had been having this dream the past few days, ever since she discovered she was betrothed to Draco. The first time she had dreamt it, the dream had only gone so far as to show Draco with his back turned to her. The next nightly illusion had him turning towards her. This time he had extended his hand towards her, calling out to her. Would she dream tomorrow if she would take his hand or not?

Hermione buried her face into her hands. It had been three days since she had discovered the truth. Her whole existence had been a lie. It didn't matter how Professor Dumbledore had put it, Hermione still felt betrayed and confused.

She didn't know what hurt more, the fact that she had lived her whole life as someone who she wasn't, or the boy in front of her glaring as if everything wrong in his life was solely her fault.

_Draco stared at her in contempt, as he shouted to the professors that he would never marry her._

_She had gasped, her mind spinning, wondering what the slimy Slytherin was talking about. "What did you just say?" she whispered, not trusting her voice to speak._

_"You heard me," he said in a low and dangerous voice. "I will not marry you, even if you're the last Magnar on earth." His words had slowed, as if he was talking to a mere toddler. He tossed her wand back to her, hoping she'd be distracted and too befuddled to catch it. She did however and Draco grudgingly admitted to himself that she'd be good at Quidditch if she managed to keep herself upright on a broom. But why in Merlin had he allowed his thoughts to wander from the situation at hand? With narrowed eyes, he turned away and made his way to the window as if to calm himself down._

_Hermione turned to her professors. "What is Malfoy saying Professor? I don't understand. Please tell me he is mistaken." Her hands were shaking, and her skin had paled a considerable amount._

_Professors McGonagall and Snape looked down guiltily while Professor Dumbledore looked sad. He straightened his shoulder, a firm but gentle expression on his face. "My regrets, Ms. Granger, but Mr. Malfoy is not mistaken. You are the heir of Magnar, and you are his betrothed."_

_Sulking in his corner, Malfoy had mumbled something sarcastically, and Professor Snape made his way towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Hermione stared at his stiff shoulders, wondering how much Malfoy had known. She turned back to the headmaster. "Magnar? They're the leading family in the cause of the light side, but how can I possibly be their heir? They disappeared years ago."_

_"They disappeared, long forgotten, but definitely not gone forever." The headmaster offered Hermione a seat as he pulled one up for himself next to her. "The Malfoys have been under the service of the Dark Lord for over fifty years—"_

_"I knew it!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing her finger accusingly at Malfoy. "Death Eater!"_

_Malfoy's eyes had raged with anger and he looked like he wanted to throttle her, but was prevented by Professor Snape. "I am not, let me repeat, **not** a death eater."_

_Professor McGonagall placed a comforting hand on Hermione's. "He most certainly is not. And that is exactly what we are trying to prevent from happening."_

_The headmaster cleared his throat, and Hermione turned to face him once more. He seemed so old and tired, and Hermione almost felt guilty for everything she had said and done. "They have been under his service, but not willingly." _

_He told her the story about the friendship of Auctor Malfoy and Tom Riddle, and how the Malfoy's came into their service. He also told her about the countercurse. It was nothing Draco hadn't heard before, and it did nothing but fuel the bitterness burning inside of him. "This is where you come in," said Dumbledore. "Your families had the two of you betrothed, because they believed that you two could bring hope into the world once more by fulfilling the prophecy."_

_"Some hope," Draco scoffs. "We can't even stand each other, are you telling us that we have to fall in love with each other in order to help save the world?"_

_Hermione glared at him, but she was glad he had asked the question that had been on her mind. He could have at least asked it in a nicer way, but then Hermione doubted she would have, with all these strange feelings building up inside of her._

_Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "It is not in your fate that you are to fall in love and wed. But if you do, then the possibilities of the prophecy coming true with will be most likely."_

_Hermione closed her eyes. "So that's it, isn't it?" she couldn't help sounding bitter. "It's either the world suffers, or we do. It's a lose-lose situation."_

_"If you would try, you would be surprised to discover it isn't. But that is only if you try."_

Hermione sat in bed, hugging her knees, wondering what she should do. "I need my parents," she whispered, hugging her knees tighter, rocking herself gently as she tried to stop a tear from escaping her eye.

Unaware to Hermione, Draco was also up, sitting by his window, trying to block out the snores of his roommates. He was thinking about her, and wondering what his future had in store for him, for them, if there even was a 'them'.

_Why her? Why me_, he asked himself. _I don't want to have anything to do this_.

He could say no, Professor Dumbledore had made it clear last night. Draco thought about it, but all he saw were his parents' disappointed faces. He hated disappointing them. Even in school, he did things that he knew would please them, or rather, that he thought would please them. He realized now why Lucius had been very vocal to him about hating Muggles and Muggle-borns. It was all for appearance's sake, so as not to alert the Dark Lord of their plans to fulfill the prophecy. Draco's parents probably cringed every time he insulted Hermione.

Draco remembered the summer before second year had started, he and his father were at Flourish and Blotts buying the books he needed for the school year. While his father was looking at books, Draco wandered off and saw the golden trio. He was laughing at them and insulting them, when his father had appeared at his side. What was it that he had said towards Hermione?

_"And you must be, Miss Granger? Yes, Draco has told me all about you. And your parents. Muggles, aren't they?" _

Lucius Malfoy had looked at Hermione so carefully, Draco had assumed it was because he was assessing the Muggle-born who had beaten his son in every subject. Looks like he had been wrong. His father had been assessing the pureblood who was to fall in love with his son and wed him. Fat chance of that happening.

Lucius had always been a big influence in Draco's life. Ever since he was little, his father had doted on him and Draco had already wanted to become just like the strong man. His father had been his world, a man of both physical and mental strength that Draco was sure no one could beat.

As Draco grew older, his love for his father hadn't diminished. When Lucius brought home his creepy friends, Draco sneered at them knowing his father was better than all of them. He prided himself at having a dominating father who would fear no one no matter how eerie they were. When Lucius made Draco play with the sons of his friends, Draco treated them the same way his father treated his friends—he was obviously better than all of them, so who better to be the leader of the group but himself?

Everything Lucius said, Draco would imitate. After he had overheard a conversation of his father's about Muggle-borns, he immediately began enlighten his two friends, Vincent and Gregory, about Muggles and Muggle-borns and how useless they were. He later started calling them by their last names, Crabbe and Goyle, because that's what his father called his friends, who were their fathers. When he met Pansy Parkinson, the daughter of another one of his father's friends, he treated her with respect as one does in the upper crust of society and would dutifully play with her when he needed to or was instructed to do so. Pansy was a sweet girl and Draco was almost fond of her. If she wanted to play house and have tea with him, Draco would do as she wished.

But outside of the duties that society had demanded of him, Draco had been a mischievous child. But of course, he also had Lucius along when he was in his mischief-making moods. He and his father would pull pranks on the house elves, shouting orders while throwing their voices around the house, confusing the poor creatures. Another time Draco had locked his mother out of the house and kept her busy as she tried to get in the house through the windows, towers or secret entrances while Lucius filled the house with flowers as a surprise. Of course, aside from pulling pranks, Lucius taught Draco how to play Quidditch and would spend all Sunday afternoons playing with him.

But that all took place before Draco entered Hogwarts. The few months Draco was home happened to be the same times the Dark Lord called upon his Death Eaters, leaving Lucius too occupied to spend much time with his son. The few moments they had were precious and spent educating Draco on life.

Of course, Draco had other qualities which differentiated him from his father. While Lucius' strengths lay in making people feel his powerful presence, Draco was more calculating and played on people's strengths and weaknesses in order to make them take notice of him in any way he chose. Draco was prone to, and enjoyed making scenes, his father preferred to keep his temper in check and take good care of what was left of the Malfoy name.

Narcissa figured Draco loved and idolized his father a bit too much and was intimidated by the thought of filling in his shoes and not being able to be as good as him. But of course, she never told either of the Malfoy males that. She knew they would both deny it vehemently.

Draco frowned as he recalled everything his parents, especially his father, had done in order to make him the man that he was today. Had it not been for the deception, they might have even made it easier for him to accept Granger before. But now, it seemed too late, they had grown accustomed to hating each other for so long that they could no longer imagine doing anything else.

Draco had always obeyed his father and done everything he could in order to please him. Loving and marrying Hermione Granger was one task that his father wanted him to do which Draco could not imagine doing. Now that he was sixteen, Draco knew that he no longer had to copy his father's every move in order to be pleasing. Draco was his own man, and his parent's respected him for that. But how would his parents react if he denied them this?

The next morning, Hermione stepped out onto the ice, rubbing her hands on her shoulders, trying to keep warm. It was a cold day, and it seemed even colder not talking to Harry and Ron. They had noticed the change in her attitude recently and pressed her for details. Hermione had snapped at them and told them to leave her alone. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, she just wanted to be left alone to her thoughts.

Last night, after she had woken up from her dream, Hermione had spent the remainder of her evening, and early morning, staring out her bedroom window, thinking. And then she saw it. She saw the pond near the South tower. It brought back memories of the pond near her own childhood home. She spent the remainder of the morning transfiguring a pair of shoes into ice skates, and when there was enough light, she left the tower for the pond. She testing the ice to see if it was safe enough to skate on, thrilled that it was.

After doing some stretches, Hermione practiced her basic skating lessons and twirls. She didn't want to attempt to do anything fancy just yet, she hadn't skated in the longest time and was a bit rusty. She closed her eyes and began to twirl when she heard a voice.

"Are you sure you ought to be doing that, Granger?" a voice drawled. "You better leave skating to the pros, we wouldn't want you to get your muggle-raised blood all over this lovely frozen-over pond, now would we?"

Hermione stopped twirling and gracefully fell into a stop. Even with her eyes closed, she already knew the owner of the drawl. He might not have spoken to her the past few days, but his voice was already imprinted in her memory, probably for life. She opened her eyes and glared coldly at Draco Malfoy, her betrothed. "What do you want, Malfoy?" She noticed the skates on his feet, and watched as he began to skate in a circle around her.

"This is my pond, Granger." Even though he was her almost-fiancée, he was still an irritating git.

"I don't see your name on it."

"I don't need to. Everyone knows this is where I, and only I, skate."

"Well apparently not everyone."

"That's because you've never torn yourself away from your two buddies and your snowball fights long enough to look this way. What's the matter? Potty and Weasel get tired of playing with you?" he taunted, as he stood behind her, whispering in her ear.

Hermione stiffened, apparently he had already heard about the fight she had had with the boys. Nevertheless, she wasn't going to let Malfoy get to her. "Sod off," she retorted as she turned to face him. She then began to skate backwards and began to make her way to the other end of the pond. It was certainly big enough, maybe he'd stick to his side and leave her alone.

No such luck. He skated over to where she was and started doing a figure eight. "So how long have you been skating, Granger?"

"Since I was seven… my _Muggle_ dad, Leonard Granger, taught me," Hermione said, before she could stop herself. She wondered why she had answered Draco's question… him of all people. She looked up at him, and surprised he didn't look as if he was coming up with a sarcastic remark. Rather he looked sort of thoughtful actually.

"Well, what do you know, Granger. We actually have something in common. My dad taught me how to skate when I was a kid."

"You? H-he did?" Hermione gasped. "But it's a muggle thing!"

Draco shot her a look. "As much as Malfoys are powerful, you should also realize we're hypocrites when we want to be."

Hermione pondered this for a moment. She couldn't find much fault in that. As Hermione began to skate in a cris-crossed manner, she found herself watching Draco as he skated. His eyes were closed, so he didn't notice Hermione staring at him. She had to admit, Ferret Boy certainly had filled out since they began Hogwarts. In fact, had he kept his mouth shut, she might have even had a little crush on him, smirk and all. Almost all of the female population at Hogwarts had noticed him change from a scrawny, smart-assed bully to that of a tall and muscular, smart-assed bully. Girls no longer rolled their eyes when he insulted someone weaker than him, rather they swooned as he insulted in a quiet but mysterious voice. Sometimes Hermione would imagine his voice late at night, his husky tones enough to make her knees weak.

But she could only recall his voice taunting herself and her friends which would make her change her mind about swooning.

She snapped out of her thoughts and decided to try a twirl she hadn't tried in the longest time. She picked up speed, closed her eyes and raised her hands above her head. Her back slowly began to arch as she twirled, and Hermione felt like she was almost flying. It was a wonderful feeling to experience.

Unknown to her, Draco had stopped skating and began to watch her. He wanted to see how good the Muggle-raised witch was, and while watching her, Draco felt his mouth open a bit. Her hair was tied up in a bun, so as not to get in the way while she skated. He had always imagined her, twenty years from now as the next Professor McGonagall, her hair tied up in a tight bun and her prim lips tightly pressed together, opening only to scold students. Seeing her now, like this…. It didn't exactly dematerialize the image of her being the next McGonagall, rather, it lessened the thought of it being a bad idea.

For some strange reason, he began to imagine themselves after the wedding, and how it would feel like… her in her tight bun, prissy lips scolding him and 'punishing him for being a bad boy'. Not that Granger would ever agree to doing that for him, much less there even being a wedding in the first place—he could decide to reject their fate and run away.

Draco swallowed hard and appeared to look bored as Hermione came to a stop and saw him watching her. "Nice, Granger. But can you do this?" he asked, picking up speed before he performed a triple axel. For some reason he felt he had to prove something to her – prove that he was better, or at least that he wasn't amazed the slightest by her stunts.

Hermione hesitated. Her dad had attempted to teach her that tricky move, but she had mastered once, and was too scared to try it again. Apparently, Draco had seen her uncertainty and taunted, "what's the matter, Granger? Scared?"

Glowering, Hermione gave him a slight shove. "Of course not." She then proceeded to prepare herself for the leap. She leapt into the air, crossing her legs. Hermione almost lost her breath. She couldn't believe she was doing it. But her joy was short lived, for when she landed, she landed on the wrong leg. Hermione cried out in pain after she fell.

Swearing out loud, Draco raced over to Hermione. "Damnit, Granger… are you alright?" He knelt down next to her.

Dazed, Hermione replied, "Great wizards, Malfoy, what do you think?" She attempted to stand up and instantly felt a searing pain in her leg. She mumbled a curse under her breath.

Draco winced. "Come on, let's get you to Madame Pomfrey."

Hermione shot him a look. "In case you haven't noticed, Malfoy, I can't even stand!"

He threw her an exasperated look. "You're a witch, use your wand!"

She bit her lip. "Erm… I left it in the Gryffindor tower."

Draco rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I never forget my wand," he said, as he began to look into his pockets for his wand. Hermione waited. And waited.

"Well," she asked, "where is it?"

This time it was Draco's turn to look sheepish. "I left it in my other robe."

Hermione groaned. "Great, I'll just freeze out here."

Draco stared at her in silence for a moment. "Now there's no need for that… even if we are enemies." He placed an arm around her back, trying to ignore the tingling feeling he suddenly experienced where he was touching her.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Hermione asked softly, as he placed his other arm below her legs and lifted her up. She was finding it difficult to breathe, maybe because her heart was pounding quickly. Hermione tried to convince herself it was just because of her accident.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Granger?" he asked sarcastically, and yet, Hermione thought she heard a trace of gentleness in his voice. "I'm bringing you to Pomfrey."

"Th-thanks, Malfoy," Hermione said, unsure of what to say. She fought back a yawn. All of a sudden she felt tired. The sleepless night had finally caught up to her, especially after such an exhilarating twirl on the ice.

Draco just nodded to her, not used to replying to that statement, for he wasn't even used to doing favors like this at all! He walked in silence, and felt his heart beating louder as Hermione leaned her head against his chest, feeling very tired all of a sudden. Just as they were approaching the doors leading to the castle, Draco finally found his voice and said, "don't expect these kind of favors from me again, Granger. This is a one-time thing, the next time I see you with Potty and the Weasel, don't think I'm not going to pick a fight with you too, I—"

He stopped his babbling when he realized Hermione was fast asleep. Draco paused, finding it ironic that he was carrying Hermione Granger… who happened to be his enemy and at the same time, his betrothed. With her cuddling up against his shoulder, Draco gazed down at her with a faint smile forming on his face.

If anyone in Hogwarts had seen what he had done next, they would have fainted on the spot. Draco brushed back a stray stand of Hermione's hair and tucked it behind her ear, an affectionate gesture wherein he allowed himself to be gentle with her for the very first time.

"Cockroach clusters."

The gargoyles guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office began to move and Hermione wondered to herself what would make the Headmaster choose a Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes product as his password. Any trouble-maker who happened to be passing-by and mentioning the product would instantly get access to the Professor Dumbledore's office! _Wait_, she realized, _that might be a good thing_.

"Miss Granger, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Professor Dumbledore greeted, with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Hermione found his statement ironic for it seemed that every other time she saw him she was in trouble because of Malfoy. "Have you and Mister Malfoy talked this over yet? Set a wedding date? Picked out your dream home?"

"Sorry, Professor," Hermione couldn't help but smile a bit back. "No marriage plans yet." Hermione belatedly scolded herself for using the word 'yet.'

Hermione hesitated and began to look around the room. It was filled with the quirky odds and ends that Dumbledore had collected over the years. What Hermione noticed most about these strange objects was that they did not give visitors an apprehensive feeling, rather, they made the room as welcoming as the headmaster himself. Rather than making her feel even more guilty for her actions the past few months, Hermione was comforted by the room's atmosphere and felt like she wanted to make things right.

_But how_, a part of Hermione's mind nagged. As typical as it was for Hermione, her mind swarmed with questions. It was unfortunate however that for the first time she felt she was unable to ask those questions. Malfoy was making her life extremely complicated. How does one ask questions concerning a guy one hates? Worse yet, how does one ask questions concerning a guy one might have to marry? How can one make sense of it all? Just because she was Hermione Granger, bookworm queen, she couldn't answer every question she was given. She needed help. Too bad there weren't any books to help her. That's why she was here. Unfortunately, getting the nerve to ask those questions were just as nerve-racking.

"Have you owled Dianna and Leonard yet about your recent discoveries?" the headmaster asked, making things easier for the prefect by opening the conversation.

"Yes, I owled them a few days ago. They sent their love and told me they would still be there for me if I were ever to need them…"

"But…?"

"But I feel as if they will not be able to answer the questions I have. Did they want me? Did they know my real parents? What were they like? What will happen to us all now? What will happen to me? What should I do?" _What should I do about Malfoy_, she asked herself quietly. "Oh Professor Dumbledore! Everything is so confusing! I cannot stand not knowing the answers but I do not even know where to begin looking! It was impossible to find anything about my family in the library, and I'm more likely to find any information there than from Malfoy."

"And you felt that I could answer your questions for you, Miss Granger?" Professor Dumbledore asked, looking deeply into Hermione's eyes. Any feelings of doubt about coming to this office that Hermione had, immediately washed away.

"I had hoped," she said, not daring to look at the headmasters eyes.

Professor Dumbledore got up from his chair and turned to his shelf and began shifting through some papers. "I do know the answers to some of your questions, Miss Granger. But I believe they will not be enough for you and will leave you feeling more dissatisfied."

Hermione's heart plummeted. "Oh. Well, thank you Headmaster, I apologize for taking up your time." She stood up from her chair and began to turn to leave when she heard him continue.

"I am certain, however, that your parents, Lord and Lady Magnar, will be able to help you find the answers to the questions which you seek."

For a moment, Hermione found herself unable to speak. "My- my parents? They're alive?"

A twinkle appeared in the elderly wizard's eye. "Oh yes. They are hiding in one of the special rooms in St. Mungos. Here, let me give you directions on how to find them."

Draco hesitated a moment before knocking on the door to the potions classroom before entering. He found the classroom empty save for his favorite professor. "Good afternoon, Professor Snape. Are you busy? Could I possibly talk to you for a few minutes?"

Professor Snape began to put aside the papers he was grading. "Of course, Mr. Malfoy. I always have time for my most diligent student. I could use a break from grading these atrocious Gryffindor papers."

Draco simply gave him a weak smirk. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow. "I take it you're not here to talk about your studies?" He opened one of the desk drawers and took out a shallow plate of jelly beans. "Here, take some of Bright and Beaming Berna's Better-feeling Beans. They're not chocolate frogs, but they'll do the trick. I keep them here to assist me when I'm feeling particularly furious at Mr. Longbottom for blowing up yet another cauldron."

Draco took two green beans and popped it into his mouth. "That was a mouthful."

The elder wizard scoffed. "Hardly. You only ate two."

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. "I was talking about the name of the beans." He picked up another green jelly bean and chewed in thoughtful silence. "Actually, Professor, I was hoping I could talk to you about… my… situation."

Professor Snape gave a slight nod in understanding and brought out his wand, muttering a privacy spell. Draco watched in awe as the spell sent colorful sparks forming a dome around them. "Thank you, Professor, although it wasn't really necessary. I just wanted to ask you a few things and was planning to speak abstractly in the first place."

The potions master threw him a pointed look. "Of course it's necessary. I wasn't made your parent's secret-keeper for nothing, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco stared at the wizard that sat before him. "You are? But which secret are you keeping for them?" Then realization dawned upon Draco. "Oh. That secret. But- why? Why are you doing this for them? For us?" Draco paused for a moment, wondering who he included when he said _us_. "And no offense, Professor. But why did they pick you? Were you close to my parents?"

The professor took a deep breath. "I went to Hogwarts with your parents, Mr. Malfoy. They were my best friends and I would do anything for them. I owed them a great debt for all these years of their friendship and support."

"Oh," was all Draco had to say. He ate three more green jelly beans while he thought. A nasty thought popped into his head. "You weren't in love with my mother or anything, were you professor?" Draco's nose wrinkled in distaste. "Or the half-brother of my father?"

"Good Merlin! Of course not. What ever possessed you to think that, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco shrugged. "It was just a thought. Since we're getting all chummy right now and there is a privacy spell around us, I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and ask the most absurd thing I could think of."

Professor Snape glared at him. "Well then, Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you stop eating Bright and Beaming—I suggest you stop eating these beans. They've done plenty for your disposition, but done nothing to improve your thinking process." Having said this, Professor Snape began to pull the dish away from the Slytherin prefect just as he was about to pick up another green bean.

Draco wasn't able his green bean, but two red beans spilled out from the dish before the professor was able to keep the dish and put it back in his drawer. Feeling put out for not being allowed to eat another green bean, Draco stared sulkily at the two red beans. Red was for Gryffindor. Draco only liked the green Slytherin beans. Professor Snape watched his favorite pupil, the ends of his lips twitching and felt a smile threatening his lips. Forcing himself to look grim as he always did, he growled, "well, what are you waiting for? I'm not going to put it back in the dish. You might as well make the most of what is given to you."

Draco pouted. "I'll only eat them if you tell me more about my parents." Without waiting for Professor Snape to agree, Draco popped the last two beans in his mouth, expecting as a Malfoy should that everyone would agree to each and every request he made.

"I'm assuming that you already know that both your parents were in Slytherin? Although they were two years older than me, I looked up to them as the rest of the Slytherin house did. Even before they became prefects, both Lucius and Narcissa were very protective of the members of Slytherin and would get into fights with the members of the other houses, defending our honor. I became close to your parents because they would get me out of a lot of tight spots with Potter's gang." Severus Snape's face tightened as he began to recall the agitating Gryffindor foursome. "Your parents were the heroes of Slytherin during their time."

Draco felt a sense of pride rush through him. "Yeah, they are pretty protective aren't they? Potty—I mean Potter says I'm too spoiled and pampered, and maybe I am a bit, but they made me strong too. They've made sure that I take care of the other Slytherins as well."

"Well, it wasn't only Slytherins they would protect." Snape hesitated a bit. "Narcissa was very fond of a Hufflepuff girl in my year and took care of her as well. Anyone whom Lucius and Narcissa deemed worth protecting, they would make sure was taken well care of."

_Hufflepuff_, Draco thought in shock. _Surprise surprise, you learn something new about your parents everyday_. And it seemed to Draco that he was doing so a lot lately. "How many more secrets did my parents keep from me? Were they betrothed as well? Why does it sound like they had a partnership rather than a marriage?" Draco fought to keep the bitterness from his voice and knew it was a losing battle. _What the _bloody_ hell is wrong with me? One moment I'm angsty, the next I'm witty and now I'm back to being _bloody_ bitter! I shouldn't be as moody as some silly witch_.

He looked up and saw Professor Snape's expression and immediately forgot all his selfish thoughts. The potion master looked absolutely deadly. "You're wrong, Draco," he said, using the boy's first name. "Your parents were more than partners, they loved each other more than all the magic in the world. They had a greatly difficult task at concealing their love for each other, especially your father. He knew about the Malfoy Family Curse from the start. He loved your mother enough to save her from living a life of servitude to the Dark Lord. But she loved him just as much as to stay by his side through all this."

Draco stared in stunned silence. "Do not tell me your parents did not love each other. They did. That kind of love you see only once in a lifetime. They had a choice: staying beside each other and risking losing one another at the hands of the Dark Lord, or to play it safe and deny their feelings. They chose love. They chose their duty. Hand in hand, your parents created you and raised you, in hopes that you would help break the curse. And yet, they still gave you a choice. You still have a say in the matter."

Professor Snape seemed as if he had reached the climax of his story-telling. "I have heard the insults Misters Potter and Weasley about you being brought up cold-hearted and unloved. Both you and I know this is untrue. Would you not want to prove them wrong?"

Draco felt his shoulders tighten. He stood up from his chair. "Thank you, Professor Snape. You have been most helpful. But I must go." He turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Make the first move, Draco. That's all I ask. That's all your parents expect you to do." Draco stopped and remembered the words of his father before the end of the Holiday Break. Draco turned and looked once more at his professor. In a softer voice, the professor continued, "You're a Malfoy. You are Draco Malfoy. Just do what you would normally do. That will be enough for us. You have already made us all so proud."

Draco nodded slightly, and began to turn back towards the door. In mid-turn, he paused and faced the elder wizard once more. "Who exactly is 'us all?'"

Professor Snape gave his favorite pupil one of his rare smiles. "Have a good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy." With that, he turned back to his papers, leaving Draco as confused as he had been when he entered the room, but not as disheartened. For someone who had entered hoping to find answers to questions about his supposed-fiancée, he had gotten answers to something even more important. Something which could even help him answer his questions.

Hermione sobbed on her mother's shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Granted, it was, but considering that she hadn't seen her mother since she was born, it should have been quite awkward.

But the moment Hermione had laid eyes on her parents, of course she had already known what they looked like—having seen them both in her book and in her dreams, she had fallen in love with them instantly.

"Oh Hermione," Lady Magnar sighed, stroking her daughter's curls. "I have missed you so."

"As have I," said her father, Lord Magnar. He was standing beside them, holding Hermione's hand and squeezing it every now and then.

Hermione looked up from her mother's shoulder and grinned at her parents beneath her tears. She hugged them both. A feeling of comfort, washed through Hermione. Being with them made her feel as if she was home. Truly home. Of course, she felt the same way with her muggle parents, in fact, Lord and Lady Magnar reminded her so much of Dianna and Leonard Granger that she never felt awkward around them for a single moment.

Lord and Lady Magnar both looked as regal as Hermione had recalled. But they had a very welcoming personality, quite the opposite of what she had dreaded. She had begged Professor McGonagall, who escorted her to St. Mungos, to come up with her. Now, however, she was glad that the Transfiguration professor had declined. She had nothing to fear, only to learn and gain.

Now, Hermione and her parents were strolling around the grounds of St. Mungos. Her father was in a wheelchair and her mother was dressed as a medi-witch. Hermione was carrying with her a backpack and some parchment, as if she was there on community service. Her parents explained to her that they were still in hiding and if anyone were to recognize them for who they truly were and the reason for being together, all of the careful plans of the Magnars and Malfoys would be put to waste if the Dark Lord were to figure it all out.

"How can you live here? Like this?" Hermione blurts out all of a sudden, breaking their silent stroll.

Lord and Lady Magnar share a look and Lady Magnar stops pushing the wheelchair. They were in the middle of the garden and the nearest wizards were more than fifty feet away. Lord Magnar motions for Hermione to sit on the ground next to him while his wife sat on the opposite side of his wheelchair. "My dearest Hermione, it was never a question of our preference. Everything we did was to keep you safe." He lifted a hand and motioned to the garden around them. "This place has been our home for the past sixteen years. While your mother and I cannot hold you in our arms we occupy ourselves with others to care for. Sometimes we help the medi-wizards and medi-witches take care of the patients, other times we help cheer up the patients. In the past, I have even helped care for this garden while your mother has helped redecorate the hospital."

"These past sixteen years without you, Hermione," Lady Magnar spoke up, "has been hard for us. But we've never regretted allowing you to grow up with the Grangers. Just look at how beautifully you've grown." Mother and daughter exchanged a smile, and Hermione blushed, believing that all mother's thought their children were beautiful.

"I know you feel as if you weren't given a choice in the matter," Lord Magnar said. "We had you betrothed to the Malfoy heir as soon as you were born. But a betrothal is just a promise. We are still giving you the chance to choose now."

"I know that, Professor Dumbledore explained that to me," Hermione said, feeling a bit impatient, but at the same time wishing she hadn't interrupted her father.

Lord Magnar saw the guilt on his daughter's face and caressed her cheek gently. "I know. You're wondering why we had to give you away. But Hermione, whether or not we had promised you to the Malfoy's, the Dark Lord would have targeted our family no matter what. We are the most prominent family on the Light side, and he would have killed us for that fact alone. Before us came the Potters and the Longbottoms, your mother and I knew what we had to do."

Hermione leaned her head on her father's knee as her mother began to stroke her hair once more. "I-I understand now. I truly do. I just wish it was easy. That I could be strong like you. And do what you ask of me."

"Hermione, love, it's alright. Marriage is a big commitment, before I married your father, even I had a few doubts. Being asked to marry someone you've fought with most of your life makes it so much more difficult."

The waterworks immediately turned on again and Hermione found herself crying uncontrollably. "It's just so hard! It's like everything has changed, and yet, he's still the same prat he's been the past six years. What if we don't fall in love? What if we kill each other before the prophecy is supposed to come true?"

"The Malfoy boy can't be that bad… can he?"

Hermione sat up straight, and her sad eyes became fiery. "Oh yes he can! Oh father, you won't believe how mean he is to me and my friends!" And so Hermione proceeded to tell her parents about the "adventures" she had had with Malfoy, beginning with his insults towards her muggle heritage in their first year to their detention sprees in this sixth year. She hesitated to tell them about the incident in the pond yesterday, it would just make her whole story even more confusing as it was.

The Gryffindor frowned as she realized that her parents were fighting to keep their smiles. She had expected them to be sympathetic like Harry and Ron were, rather they were smiling as if Malfoy had done her no wrong.

"I'm sorry, dear," Lady Magnar said, alerted to the fact that her daughter was becoming more upset. "Your stories have just brought back these wonderful memories of when we were in school. Your father and I studied in Beauxbatons and although we didn't have full blown fights as you and Draco do, we did have our share of passionate arguments." Husband and wife shared another loving glance, almost forgetting they had their daughter in their presence.

"You did grow out of your petty arguments, right?"

Lord Magnar laughed. "Actually, darling, the number of arguments we had only increased. Of course, the best ones we had ended in the bedroom, if you know what I mean," he said with a wink.

While Lady Magnar laughed in embarrassment, Hermione's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open. "Father!" she scolded, but she was unable to stop her mind from picturing herself and Malfoy in that situation. Hermione shuddered, or was that shivered?

"Don't be such a prude," Lady Magnar laughed. "How do you think you were created?"

"Mother! Father! Please stop!" Hermione cried, laughing along with her parents. "Oh Merlin! You're staring to remind me of him! He always makes crude jokes like that!"

Lord Magnar raised an eyebrow. "Well, then I guess he isn't that bad after all." And then the three of them began to laugh all over again. After the laugher had died down, Lord Magnar sobered instantly. "But seriously, Hermione. Is that all he does? Irritate you with his crude jokes? Because it that's the case, I will have some words with him—"

"Of course not, Father. But he does like to pick on Harry, Ron and I and the other Gryffindors an awful lot. Malfoy's always been such a prat! Making others feel bad just because they aren't as good as him in Quidditch, or aren't as smart as him. He used to insult me a lot because of my "origins." Once he even called me a Mudblood!"

Lord Magnar looked perturbed. "But you're not, dear."

"I know that now, Father. But it doesn't make the insult any less painful."

Lady Magnar placed her hand upon Hermione's. "I understand dear. I'm sure it must have hurt being called that. But, like you said, he called you that once. He must have been very furious at the time."

Hermione pondered this for a moment. She had just insulted him in front of the entire Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch teams. His ego must have already been bruised by the fact that he had to buy his way on the team—insulting him in front of everyone must have been a terrible blow. "But that doesn't excuse him for being a prat the rest of the time."

"No, it doesn't," her mother agreed. "But you have to remember that he is a Malfoy. Lucius and Narcissa must have good reasons for raising him in such a way. Probably in order to make the Dark Lord believe that Draco would indeed grow up and serve him as his father and grandfather did. The Malfoy's must have had their reasons. Both Narcissa and Lucius are really wonderful people, have you met them?"

Hermione frowned. "I've only met Malfoy's mum once before. She didn't say much, but she looked kind of snobby. Lucius Malfoy however I've seen a number of times and he seemed just as bad if not worse than his son." She watched both her parents open their mouths to contradict her, but she beat them to it. "Yeah, it was all probably to deceive the Dark Lord." Hermione didn't sound like she believed it much, but her parents knew better than to push the issue.

Lady and Lord Magnar exchanged a look. Somehow, they probably weren't helping Hermione much with regards to her decision. Lady Magnar decided to take another approach. "Well, Draco Malfoy isn't all that horrible, is he?"

Hermione was silent for a few minutes, playing with the petals of the flower beside her as she thought. "No," she grudgingly agreed. "He isn't completely horrible. He's awfully smart—although he isn't as smart as me, and terribly athletic—although he isn't as good as Harry. He has a naughty sense of humor and a wicked smile. I guess he isn't so bad."

Lord Magnar laughed. "Merlin, Hermione! Even while complimenting the poor boy you still manage to talk about him as if he was evil! Awful, terrible, naughty and wicked! Couldn't you have used better words to describe him?"

Hermione pinked as she realized her father was right. "I could, but I guess my subconscious mind was speaking it's opinion on the prat." She smiled at her parents. "He isn't though—evil, I mean."

Taking both her daughter's hands into hers, Lady Magnar smiled a gentle smile. "That's all we need to know. Give him a chance, Hermione. I'm sure there is much you can discover about Draco Malfoy than you ever thought could be discovered."

Lord Magnar hugged both his daughter and wife. Hermione smiled at both of her parents. "I'll try, I promise I will give it a try."

Draco had spent the remainder of his afternoon and evening holed up in his room, thinking about his future and whether or not he would even consider having Granger as part of his future. He lay on his stomach, his upper body propped up by his elbows.

Vince and Greg had come in the room earlier reminding him about dinner. But Draco had told them to bugger off. In truth, he wasn't at all hungry. Must have been Bright and Beaming Betty's Better-feeling Beans. He needed to remember to pick up a pack on his next trip to Hogsmade. Or Knockturn Alley. Wherever the professor had gotten the strange candy.

Before the boys left, they noticed that Draco was playing with a silver, medium-sized ball, looking at it hesitantly. It was only after the blonde-boy decided that he was the only one in the room and that it was safe, did he allow himself to open it. The silver ball was Draco's pensive. So much had happened in the past few days, Draco wanted to relive every moment without bias, able to recall things his unconscious might have normally decided to leave out. The young Slytherin closed the curtains around his bed and used the same privacy spell Professor Snape had used earlier that day.

Draco spent the entire evening reliving his entire sixth year. After watching his numerous assignments which involved Granger, he began to notice the pattern of the three conspiring professors concerning their—his and Granger's—set up. He saw the Holiday break with his parents, and saw once more in their eyes how much they loved him. He was given another chance to see how fiery Granger's eyes got when they were in the middle of an argument—as if he could ever forget those.

The last thing Draco remembered seeing before he drifted off to sleep was the passion and fire in her eyes…except that this time they looked softer, almost as if it was filled with excitement and need.

Draco didn't know where the pensive had ended and his dreams began, because they were both filled with images of the former Gryffindor-Mudblood-turned-Magnar. Sleep was quick, as if he had barely rested his eyes at all. This was why at six-o'clock in the morning, Draco's roommates were awoken by a loud exclamation made by the Slytherin prefect.

"I've made my decision!"

**…to be continued…**

**Author notes:** This chapter is dedicated to three wonderful people: Palm D'or my absolutely terrific beta reader (no wait, he's terrible… you can't have him! He's mine! Hee)! cheriiemrei who left me the sweetest comment when I was ranting at the whitescreen, and most especially to the boy I love most in the world, my Coffee, who I wish could be my Draco.  
  
**Thanks also to my awesome reviewers at ffn.net:** lilliss, v0xlos, kou shun'u, scholz03, Bladefanatic, fairylightbabe89, paprika90, mystripedskirt, Draco-FutureBF, SaNgUiNe SiStaR, pyroprincess4rmeverwood, Zephyr Seraphim, v son sayian, star fantasy 29, shadowcat15, Arafel2, fishin Pippin (sorry, sean's not my type :D), Palm D'or (alabshu! :D), Tracy3, dracodolenz, Angel, jules37, desperate fan, ChIcKa, westmc, Anyanka, TennisAngel, lgobgirlie15 (how's your story? Last I check you were revising it. Good luck :)), Calypso in Love, moonsilk, beautybunnymouse, leonsalanna (he ducked :)), Keaira Malfoy, dawn1, swtgrl4eva06, CarEtoDreaM, tiggertrouble, Naira (don't worry, I intend to finish this fic no matter how long it takes :)), alka, deejayD, Jenna-chan, argentenipinkini (I know, im torn between wanting draco to be mature but seeing as he's an only kid, hes gotta be a bit immature :D), Sam8, GeaN bLu sAppHire (thanks for the nice long review :) I'll try to use some of your ideas), imogenhm, Bookworm2003, Edalene, siriusforeva, Anora Potter, m.s., cocovanilla (erm.. which fic "Blood"? I never wrote a fic entitled that)

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